Saim makes huge leap in ICC rankings

DUBAI:

Pakistan cricketers have made remarkable progress in the latest ICC T20I rankings following their impressive performances in the recently concluded three-match T20I series against the West Indies.

Middle-order batter Hassan Nawaz made a notable leap, climbing 24 spots to 30th place after scoring 79 runs in the series, earning 569 rating points.

Top-order batter Saim Ayub, who emerged as the leading run-scorer with 130 runs including two half-centuries, soared 25 places to 37th position with 559 points.

Fellow opener Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 91 runs in the series, surged 34 spots to claim the 63rd spot with 484 rating points.

Captain Salman Ali Agha and experienced batter Fakhar Zaman also saw improvements in their rankings, moving up 15 and three places to 76th and 78th positions, respectively.

However, seasoned players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have been inactive in T20Is since 2024, experienced a drop in rankings. Babar now sits at 17th, and Rizwan at 19th, both slipping three places.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris, who struggled during the Caribbean tour, dropped 21 places to 86th with 413 points.

India's Abhishek Sharma retained the top position among T20I batters, followed by Australia's Travis Head and India's Tilak Varma in second and third, respectively.

In the bowling rankings, no Pakistani bowler features in the top 20. Fast bowler Haris Rauf maintained his 26th position with 575 points, while young pacer Abbas Afridi dropped three spots to 27th.

Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem made a stunning jump of 69 places to reach 34th with 542 points. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi slipped one position to 36th, and Mohammad Nawaz climbed 51 places to 56th with 489 points.

Abrar Ahmed dropped nine spots to 60th, and T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan fell five places to 72nd. New Zealand's Jacob Duffy continued to top the bowling rankings, followed by England's Adil Rashid, while West Indies' Akeal Hosein moved up to third, replacing India's Varun Chakaravarthy.

In the all-rounders category, Shadab Khan dropped two spots to 19th. Rising star Saim Ayub made a massive leap, climbing 70 places to 24th with 119 rating points.

Mohammad Nawaz jumped 13 places to 36th, while Abbas Afridi dropped four places to 56th. Iftikhar Ahmed fell six places to 70th, and Faheem Ashraf moved up five spots to 77th with 58 points.

India's Hardik Pandya remains the number one T20I all-rounder, followed by Nepal's Dipendra Singh Airee and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi in second and third, respectively.

India's Siraj shines

India pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna achieved their career-best ratings of 674 points and 368 points respectively after their memorable performances in The Oval Test against England.

While Player of the Match in the fifth Test Siraj climbed 12 places to grab 15th spot in the latest ICC Men's Test Bowler Rankings, fellow pacer Krishna moved 25 places to rank 59th in the list after picking up eight wickets in the deciding Test which India won by six runs.

This is both Siraj and Krishna highest ever position in the Test ranking, after churning out match winning spells in the final Test against England.