Afghanistan, Pakistan and UAE players make gains in ICC T20I update
Pakistan’s left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem has emerged as the country’s highest-ranked bowler in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Rankings after an impressive rise.
The 23-year-old climbed 11 places to secure 22nd position with 594 rating points.
Shaheen Afridi also moved up eight spots to 26th, while Haris Rauf and Abbas Afridi slipped to 28th and 33rd, respectively.
Mohammad Nawaz leaped 15 places to 43rd with 521 points.
In contrast, Abrar Ahmed dropped to 66th and vice-captain Shadab Khan fell nine places to 81st amid injury concerns.
New Zealand pacer Matt Henry retained his No.1 spot in the ICC T20I Bowling Rankings, with England’s Adil Rashid second and West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein third.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan held firm at eighth, while Fazalhaq Farooqi (16th) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (27th) remained consistent performers.
Naveen-ul-Haq slipped to 24th, while Mohammad Nabi surged 26 spots to 54th and Noor Ahmad soared 49 places to 73rd.
On the batting side, Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz climbed two places to 31st with 580 points, while skipper Salman Ali Agha made the most notable progress, jumping 18 places to 59th with 497 points.
Fakhar Zaman, despite a lean patch, edged up to 77th. Senior stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, currently absent from Pakistan’s T20I setup, dropped to 21st and 22nd.
Saim Ayub slid to 40th and opener Sahibzada Farhan dropped to 67th.
Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz advanced to 18th, while Ibrahim Zadran surged 12 spots to 20th with 606 points.
However, Hazratullah Zazai (82nd), Najibullah Zadran (87th), and Mohammad Nabi (69th) slipped.
From the UAE, captain Muhammad Waseem climbed to 26th with 591 points after consistent performances, while Asif Khan jumped 13 places to 88th following a blistering 77 against Pakistan.
At the very top of the batting charts, India’s Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma continue to dominate the first and second positions, followed by England’s Phil Salt in third.