Babar Azam tops T20I player rankings

Babar Azam has topped the ICC Player Rankings for T20I batsmen, following the conclusion of their series against New Zealand which the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 champions won 2-1.

Babar was rewarded for finishing as the leading run-scorer in the series (109 runs) with a rise of 11 places that has put him on top for the first time. He now leads Australia’s Aaron Finch (784 points) by two points.

Read More: Fast-rising Hasan doubtful for PSL start

Babar is the second Pakistan batsman to top the T20I rankings after Misbah-ul-Haq, who had climbed to number-one spot in 2009.

Ahmed Shehzad has moved up two places to 25th and is his side’s second highest-ranked batsman in the shortest format, but captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman are the biggest movers in the latest rankings.

Sarfraz’s series contribution of 79 runs has lifted him from 76th position to 55th, while Fakhar has claimed the 71st spot after rising 41 places following his series aggregate of 99 runs.

Read More: Babar Azam moves up to career best sixth position in T20I rankings

Pakistan’s Shadab Khan, who was the most successful bowler in the series with five wickets, has rocketed 28 places to 14th spot, while fast bowler Mohammad Amir has also made an impressive gain of 19 places and now sits in 27th position after bagging three wickets.