Babar back as No.1 ranked T20I batsman as Pakistan cement their top ranking

Pakistan’s Babar Azam now leads second-ranked Aaron Finch of Australia by five points after the Australian started the series with a commanding 126 points lead over the Pakistani.

Adil Rashid and Billy Stanlake achieve career-high bowling rankings; Imad Wasim also in top-10
Babar Azam has reclaimed the number-one ranking in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Player Rankings for T20I Batsmen for the third time this year after hitting two half-centuries in Pakistan’s 3-0 series win over Australia. The series result means Pakistan cannot be displaced from the top spot irrespective of the outcome of their upcoming series against New Zealand as well as the one between India and the Windies.

Babar’s series aggregate of 163 runs with a strike-rate of a little over 117 has helped him leapfrog Australia captain Aaron Finch, who managed just four runs in three matches, Lokesh Rahul of India and New Zealand’s Colin Munro into the coveted number-one position.

Babar Azam reclaims No.1 T20I batting ranking for third time this year. Adil Rashid, Billy Stanlake, Faheem Ashraf and Hasan Ali achieve career-high bowling rankings
Latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings ▶️ https://t.co/5NGx7URAck@TheRealPCB pic.twitter.com/VHpp1P0FLS

— ICC Media (@ICCMediaComms) October 29, 2018

Babar now leads second-ranked Finch by five points after the Australian started the series with a commanding 126 points lead over the Pakistani. From this series, Babar earned 79 points while Finch conceded 52 points.

Babar, who captained Pakistan at the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012, had topped the batting charts for the first time in his career in January following the series against New Zealand. He then regained the top spot following the home series against the Windies in April. Both the times, he lost the No.1 ranking to Finch.

Another batsman to make an impact in the top-20 is Jason Roy of England. The opener scored 69 in the only T20I against Sri Lanka, which has helped him to rise five places to a career-high ninth position.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Player Rankings for T20I Bowlers, England’s wrist spinner Adil Rashid and Australia fast bowler Billy Stanlake have achieved career-high rankings, while Pakistan’s Imad Wasim has also made a return to the top-10.

Rashid took three for 11 in Sri Lanka, which has helped him rise four places to fifth, while Stanlake took five wickets in two appearances that have lifted him nine places to become his country’s highest-ranked bowler in ninth position. Imad has been rewarded for his four wickets with a gain of 14 places that has put him in 10th position.

Babar Azam and Shadab Khan were the stars as Pakistan secured a 3-0 series win

But it was bad news for Australia#PakvAus REPORT ? https://t.co/KNIpYmEF2p pic.twitter.com/q0sc3Zxk2R

— ICC (@ICC) October 28, 2018

Outside the top-10, Pakistan’s Faheem Ashraf has jumped 18 places to a career-best 16th ranking, Hasan Ali has risen eight places to a career-high 21st position and Adam Zampa has moved up 20 places to claim 22nd position.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s 3-0 series win means they will remain the number-one ranked side irrespective of how their upcoming series against fifth-ranked New Zealand and the three-match series between second-ranked India and seventh-ranked Windies pan out.

The 3-0 win has earned Pakistan four points, which have lifted them to 136 points, while Australia have dropped five points and are now on 118 points, just ahead of England on decimal points.

Even if New Zealand and India win all their upcoming T20Is, Pakistan (130) will continue to lead India (127) by three points. However, this result will help New Zealand move ahead of England and Australia in third position.

In contrast, if Pakistan and the Windies win all their matches, Pakistan will rise to 138 points and only one point will separate second-ranked India (119) from fourth-ranked Australia (118). In this scenario, the reigning ICC Men’s World T20 champions will jump from 106 points to fifth on 114 points.

Schedule of upcoming matches:

Pakistan v New Zealand
31 Oct – 1st T20I , Abu Dhabi
2 Nov – 2nd T20I, Dubai
4 Oct – 3rd T20I, Dubai

India v Windies
4 Nov – 1st T20I, Kolkata
6 Nov -2nd T20I, Lucknow
11 Nov – 3rd T20I, Chennai

MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings (as on 29 October, following the conclusion of Pakistan v Australia and one-off T20I between Sri Lanka and England):

(Developed by David Kendix)

MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 29 October, following the conclusion of Pakistan v Australia and one-off T20I between Sri Lanka and England):

BATSMEN (top 10)

SELECTED RANKINGS

BOWLERS (top 10)

SELECTED RANKINGS

ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)