ICC T20I Rankings: Shamsi, Rizwan rise to career-best positions

Dubai: South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi grabbed a career-best second position among bowlers while Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan raced to 42nd place in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings released on Monday.

Both Shamsi and Rizwan had standout performances in the recently concluded three-match series that Pakistan won 2-1.

Shamsi’s series-topping six wickets, which included a haul of four for 25 in the final match, helped the left-arm wrist-spinner overtake Australia’s Adam Zampa, England’s Adil Rashid and Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman to within three points of top-ranked Rashid Khan of Afghanistan.

Rizwan too benefited from heading the run-aggregate in the series with 197 runs, which comprised knocks of 104 not out, 51 and 42. The string of impressive scores won him the player of the series award and lifted him a whopping 116 slots to a career-best 42nd position.

He was also player of the series in a preceding two-match Test series, which resulted in a career-best ranking for him in that format.

Haider Ali was another Pakistan batsman to advance, moving up 13 places to 137th position while fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi (up five places to 11th) and Hasan Ali (up 14 places to 82nd), and spinners Mohammad Nawaz (re-entered at 64th) and Usman Qadir (up 129 places to 92nd) were the bowlers to progress.

For South Africa, Reeza Hendricks’s 98 runs in the series lifted him seven places to 17th and David Miller’s 116 runs, which included a 45-ball 85 not out in the second match, saw him gain seven places to 22nd position in the list led by Dawid Malan of England.

Fast bowler Dwaine Pretorius moved up from 121st place to 51st, after matching compatriot Shamsi’s six wickets in the series, a huge gain considering his previous best was only a 107th rank.

Meanwhile, there was no change of positions in the ICC Men’s Team Rankings after the series.

Pakistan gained one point but remain in fourth position with 260 points while South Africa have lost one point but remain fifth with 251 points. (UNI)