Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam has made an impressive climb to the third spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 players rankings. His opening partner, Mohammad Rizwan, managed to retain the second position in the latest update. Babar and Rizwan will have the chance to close the gap on India’s Suryakumar Yadav, who currently tops the T20I rankings, during the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will start on April 14 in Lahore.
According to the ICC, Babar Azam moved up to third place on the rankings updated on Wednesday, and he has an excellent opportunity to make further progress on Suryakumar while the Indian star is busy playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Although Suryakumar has a commanding lead with 906 rating points, Rizwan and Babar, with 811 and 755 rating points, respectively, could still make gains.
Interestingly, Babar’s rise to the third spot was due to Devon Conway’s absence from New Zealand’s series against Sri Lanka, with the Kiwi batter also playing in the IPL with the Chennai Super Kings.
Unfortunately, no Pakistan player is currently in the top 10 of the ICC bowler’s rankings in T20Is, with Shadab Khan being the highest-ranked player in 12th place. Shadab is also the only Pakistan player in the top 10 of the all-rounder’s rankings for T20I, securing fourth place. With the upcoming series against New Zealand, Pakistan fans will be eagerly anticipating some outstanding performances from their players.
 Men's T20 players rankings. His opening partner, Mohammad Rizwan, managed to retain the second position in the latest update.){kind=link}