Hardik moves to No. 2 position in ICC T20I All-Rounder Rankings

DUBAI: India star Hardik Pandya reached within reach of the top spot in the T20I All-Rounder Rankings after ripping through the New Zealand top order in their series decider last week, the International Cricket Council announced the ranking on Wednesday.

Pandya has leapt over Mohammad Nabi into the second spot in the T20I All-Rounder Rankings after taking the new ball and claiming 4/16 from four overs against New Zealand in Motera.

All-rounder Pandya, who grabbed four for 16 and smashed a 17-ball 30, has progressed in all three lists. He has moved up from 53rd to 50th among batters, 66th to 46th among bowlers and is in second place among all-rounders, only a couple of rating points behind Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hassan.

India opener Shubman Gill has shot up to a career-best 30th position in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings after smashing a match-winning century against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Ahmedabad.

Gill’s unbeaten 126 off 63 balls contributed to India’s huge 168-run victory and helped seal the series 2-1, lifting him an incredible 168 slots. Gill, who has now slammed centuries in all three formats of the game, is ranked sixth in ODIs and 62nd in Tests.

The 23-year-old Gill has surged a whopping 168 places from outside the top 100 in the T20I Batting Rankings to equal-30th after playing only six T20Is.

India’s Suryakumar Yadav holds onto the top spot among the batters, while Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan remains the No.1 ranked bowler.

Left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, Gill’s team-mate in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup-winning squad of 2018, is another one to move up the rankings, gaining eight slots to reach a career-best 13th position after finishing with two for 16 in Ahmedabad.

Daryl Mitchell, who top-scored for New Zealand with 35 in their total of 66, has gained four spots and is in joint-25th position in the latest weekly update that considers performance in the Ahmedabad match for T20Is and the final match of the South Africa-England series for the ODI rankings.

England captain Jos Buttler’s match-winning 131 in Kimberley has helped him progress six places to 20th position while South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has advanced five places to reach 19th position after finishing with four for 62 in the high-scoring match.

Dawid Malan (up 31 places to 58th among batters) and fast bowler Jofra Archer (up 13 places to 22nd among bowlers) are other England players to move up in the ODI rankings. South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen is up 11 places to 42nd among batters.