Dubai: India’s middle-order players, Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer, have made massive jumps in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings for batters following their performances in the recently-concluded three-match series against the West Indies in Kolkata.
Surykumar has jumped 35 spots to No.21, while Iyer made a massive leap of 203 spots to No.115 in the rankings for batters. West Indies’ lone warrior with the bat, Nicholas Pooran, moved five places to No.13.
Both batters enjoyed a sensational series against the Caribbean side, which saw the home side complete a 3-0 series win.
Yadav was India’s highest run-getter in the series, while Iyer was second. In the first game, India lost three wickets in four overs and needed 65 off 45 when Yadav walked in to bat. Yadav and Iyer came together and took India across the line with more than an over to spare.
In the final T20I against the Windies, the two once again bailed India out of trouble from 93/4. Both batters unleashed a barrage of shots against the West Indies bowlers and stitched a 91-run stand in just 37 balls. India posted a competitive 184/5, thanks to a stunning 65 off 31 balls from Suryakumar while Iyer remained unbeaten on 35 off 19.
The recently-concluded T20I series between Australia and Sri Lanka also caused some movement in the rankings. Australia’s Ashton Agar broke into the top-10 rankings for bowlers, and currently sits at No.9.
In the last two matches, Agar was miserly with his bowling and returned figures of 1/14 and 1/19. Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana’s rise in T20I cricket reflected in his rankings as well — he attained a career-high rating of 592 after climbing 12 places to No. 17.
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood’s performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier A saw him break into the top 10 for all-rounders, rising four spots to No.6.
In the Test rankings, following the first Test between New Zealand and South Africa, pace bowlers Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee moved up a place each to occupy the No.3 and No.5 spot respectively, with the former attaining a career-high rating of 825.
Neil Wagner’s exploits with the bat and ball saw him scale four spots to No.13 in the all-rounders’ rankings.
(IANS)
