DUBAI: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan and pacer spearhead Shaheen Afridi have registered improvement in latest T20I rankings.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued the rankings on Wednesday, stating that there is some joy for Pakistan too on the updated T20I rankings.
Mohammad Rizwan jumped two places to move to sixth on the list for batters and Shaheen Afridi gained six spots to jump to 20th for bowlers.
However, former skipper Babar Azam dropped two places in T20I rankings to reach seven number spot.
Meanwhile, Joe Root’s reign as the best player in the world is over as rising England star Harry Brook confirmed his climb to the top by claiming the No.1 spot for the first time on the latest ICC Men’s Test Batter Rankings.
Brook overtakes Root to snatch the premier Test batter ranking on the back of his eighth Test century against New Zealand in Wellington last week, with the England right-hander now holding on to a narrow one-point advantage over his more experienced teammate at the top of the rankings list.
The rise of Brook to a total of 898 rating points is just one more than Root’s current haul of 897 and sees the 25-year-old join India great Sachin Tendulkar with the equal 34th highest rating of all time for Test batters.
Root has held top spot since he leapfrogged former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in July this year and has been in the premier position a total of nine times over his glittering career.
Brook managed scores of 123 and 55 during England’s impressive 323-run triumph over the Black Caps at Basin Reserve and Root – who managed innings of three and 106 in the same contest – had no hesitation in nominating his successor as the best player in the world after the match.
Australia star Travis Head (up six spots to fifth) and South Africa captain Temba Bavuma (up three places to seventh) make ground inside the top 10 for Test batters following strong contributions with the bat for their respective countries, while former No.1 ranked batter Marnus Labuschagne improves three places to move to 13th.
Sri Lanka right-hander Dinesh Chandimal (up two spots to 15th) and South Africa keeper Kyle Verreynne (up 15 places to 23rd) also climb the Test batter charts, while a quintet of fast bowlers make eye-catching gains on the latest rankings for Test bowlers.
