KL Rahul jumps to sixth place in ICC T20I rankings

Dubai, Feb 28 - India opener Lokesh Rahul gained four berths to reach sixth position as Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell and Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai also rose in the ICC T20I player rankings, a statement said.

Formerly top-ranked batsman Virat Kohli gained two places to reach 17th and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, seven places to 56th. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (up 12 places to 15th) and left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (up 18 places to a career-best 43rd) also advanced.

Maxwell and Zazai gained after superb shows with the bat in their series against India and Ireland, respectively.

Maxwell, top-ranked in the format a year ago, gained two slots to reach third position after scores of 56 and 113 not out that helped Australia complete a 2-0 victory in India, Kangaroos' first series win in over a decade against the winners of inaugural ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2007.

Hazratullah gained 31 places to reach a career-best seventh position after aggregating 204 runs in the 3-0 series victory, that included an incredible 162 not out, the second highest score in T20Is.

The left-hander slammed 11 fours and 16 sixes in the 62-ball knock and helped his team post the highest T20I total of 278 for three.

For Australia, D'Arcy Short has moved eight places to reach eighth position among batsmen while Nathan Coulter-Nile gained four slots to reach 45th position among bowlers after taking four wickets against India, including a player of the match haul of three for 26 in the first match.

Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi has moved 12 slots to reach 30th place and Usman Ghani 25 slots to 79th among batsmen, while Mujeeb-ur-Rehman moved from 42nd to 40th among bowlers.

For Ireland, Kevin O'Brien has gained 10 places to reach 61st among batsmen, while Peter Chase moved 22 slots to be ranked 99th among bowlers.

In the ICC men's T20I team rankings, Pakistan top the table with India at second position. Australia have overtaken South Africa (fourth) and England fifth) to reach third place. Afghanistan and Ireland retain eighth and 17th positions, respectively.

IANS