DUBAI: Highly-touted India batter Ruturaj Gaikwad on Wednesday gained 13 places in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings to enter the top 10, off the back of a stellar 77* off 47 balls in a comprehensive India win in the second T20I. Gaikwad jumped 13 spots from 20th to the seventh as a result of the knock, as per ICC.
With most of India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024-winning squad rested for the Zimbabwe tour, the five-game series has allowed India’s back-up players to showcase their talent, And with the retirement of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja, the up and coming players can make a good case for a regular place in the side.
Apart from Gaikwad, Rinku Singh and Abhishek Sharma also made solid gains among the India batters. Rinku, who was among the reserves for the T20 World Cup, jumped four places to reach the 39th spot on the back of an attacking 48* from 22 balls in the second T20I.
After a duck in the first game, all-rounder Abhishek Sharma smashed a stunning 100 from just 47 balls in the second game. With this spectacular knock, he entered the rankings in 75th. Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett gained 25 places to finish at the 96th position courtesy of his two attacking cameos, making 22 off 15 and 26 off nine in the two matches.
There were some movements in the top 10 positions of the ICC Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings, with Adam Zampa (7th), Fazalhaq Farooqi (8th), and Maheesh Theekshana (10th) gaining positions after Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav dropped places while sitting out the Zimbabwe series.
Ravi Bishnoi, with his six scalps in the first two games against Zimbabwe, jumped eight places to move into the 14th spot. Blessing Muzarabani also gained eight positions after the first two matches, up to 55th, with his spell of 1/17 instrumental in the Chevrons winning the first T20I.
Wanindu Hasaranga moved to sole leader in the ICC Men’s T20I All-Rounder Rankings, with Hardik Pandya back to second place. India’s Washington Sundar entered the top 50 on the back of his quickfire 27 in the first game, as well as his three wickets in two outings. (ANI)