Latest ICC rankings: Suryakumar Yadav overtakes Babar Azam in batting rankings

While Team India was beaten by Australia in the first T20I match on September 20, Indian cricket fans have now been handed a reason for celebrating. India scored 208 for six wickets in the game, with help from KL Rahul (55), Suryakumar Yadav (46) and Hardik Pandya (71*).

The trio has been rewarded in the latest ICC rankings, as Suryakumar Yadav has become the third-ranked batter in the T20 ranking, whereas Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul have climbed several positions each in the T20 rankings.

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Yadav has dethroned Pakistan captain Babar Azam at the third position in the T20 rankings and is following Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan and Aiden Markram of South Africa in the top two places. Meanwhile, Babar Azam has gone down to the fourth position with 771 points, nine less than Yadav (780).

Yadav, 32, is the only Indian batter inside the top 10 of ICC’s latest T20 batting rankings. Meanwhile, India vice-captain and opener KL Rahul has climbed five places to the 18th position. He is currently following Suryakumar Yadav (3rd), Rohit Sharma (14th) and Virat Kohli (16th) on the list. Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, has jumped 23 places to the 65th rank.

Apart from the batting rankings, Pandya has also made gains in the all-rounder rankings. He has jumped two places to the 5th position of ICC’s latest all-rounder rankings, where he is following the likes of Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Moeen Ali (England) and Wanidu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka). Pandya is also the highest-ranked Indian all-rounder in ODI and T20I.

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While Indian players have fared comparatively well in batting and all-rounder rankings, the bowling department has not been as impressive. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is the only Indian bowler in the top 10, has lost two places and is currently occupying the ninth position.

Another top Indian bowler, Yuzvendra Chahal has lost one position and is currently in the 28th position. Meanwhile, Axar Patel has jumped 25 places to the 33rd position.