Babar rises to No. 4, Suryakumar retains top spot in ICC T20I Rankings

New Delhi,UPDATED: May 1, 2024 14:27 IST

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has risen to the No. 3 spot in the latest ICC T20I Rankings for batters, updated on Wednesday, May 1. Babar jumped one spot after his chart-topping effort with the bat during the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand at home. Babar scored 125 runs at an average of 31 at a strike rate of 138 in the series that ended in a 2-2 draw.

Babar Azam, who held the No. 1 spot until Suryakumar Yadav took it away from him last year, has 763 rating points, 98 fewer than Stjhe Indian batting star, who is at the No. 1 spot in the batting charts. Babar started slow, but hit a match-winning 69 in the final T20I to help Pakistan level the series.

England's Phil Salt, who has been in sensational form for the Knight Riders in IPL 2024, is at the No. 3 spot with 802 rating points, 18 more than 3rd-placed Mohammad Rizwan. Babar Azam went to No. 4, replacing South Africa's Aiden Markram who has dropped to No. 5.

Babar's Pakistan teammate Fakhar Zaman also made good ground on the latest rankings update, with the attacking left-hander improving 10 places to 62nd place on the back of his 104 runs for the series.

New Zealand's biggest eye-catcher was Tim Seifert, with the experienced right-hander jumping seven places to equal seventh after compiling 85 runs for the series at a decent strike rate of 144.06.

There was also a boost for Pakistan and New Zealand players on the updated list for T20I bowlers, with pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi jumping three places to equal 14th following his eight scalps across four matches against New Zealand.

ICC T20I BATTING RANKINGS

1. Suryakumar Yadav - 861
2. Phil Salt - 802
3. Mohammad Rizwan - 784
4. Babar Azam - 763
5. Aiden Markram - 755
6. Yashasvi Jaiswal - 714
7. Rilee Rossouw - 689
8. Jos Buttler - 680
9. Reeza Hendricks - 660
10. Dawid Malan - 657