Rankings boost for Afghanistan spinner heading into T20 World Cup
Rashid Khan returned from injury in style with eight wickets for Afghanistan against Ireland and was duly rewarded on the rankings list for T20I bowlers.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan issued an ominous warning on the eve of this year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup by re-entering the top 10 of the ICC Men's T20I Bowler Rankings.
Rashid rose four places to equal ninth on the rankings that were updated by the ICC on Wednesday, following his Player of the Series heroics that helped guide Afghanistan to a 2-1 series triumph over Ireland recently.
Dominance 👊
— ICC (@ICC) March 18, 2024
Rashid Khan's all-round brilliance helped Afghanistan level the #AFGvIRE T20I series 1-1 👏
📸: @ACBofficials pic.twitter.com/3daRwNUO4p
The Afghanistan ace collected a series-high eight wickets over the three matches at an average of 5.62 in what was the 25-year-old’s first series back since he injured his back during last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Rashid, who first held the No.1 ranking for T20I bowlers at the start of 2018 and has consistently remained near the top of the list up until recent times, only slipped out of the top 10 recently and will be keen to maintain his position within the premier spots in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup in USA and the Caribbean during June.
Rashid's Afghanistan teammate Naveen-ul-Haq (up two places to 55th) made some ground following his three wickets during the Ireland series, while Irish trio Josh Little (up seven spots to 39th), Mark Adair (up two places to 56th) and Barry McCarthy (up 15 spots to 77th) also boosted their T20I bowler ranking that is still being led by England spinner Adil Rashid.
India dynamo Suryakumar Yadav remains way out in front of the rankings for T20I batters, with Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi moving back within the top 50 with a one-spot rise following his series-high 90 runs against Ireland.
Bangladesh veteran Shakib Al Hasan maintains his place at the top of the rankings for T20I all-rounders, with Ireland's Gareth Delany (up four places to 18th) the biggest mover in this category following his 76 runs and a wicket against Afghanistan.
There was also some movement in the latest ODI rankings for batters following Sri Lanka's series against Bangladesh, with the most notable change coming from Pathum Nissanka who entered the top 10 at eighth following a three-place rise.
Nissanka totalled 151 runs from the series that Bangladesh claimed 2-1, while Sri Lanka teammate Charith Asalanka improved two spots to 14th on the back of his 146 runs from three innings.
Bangladesh trio Mushfiqur Rahim (up six spots to 26th), Najmul Hossain Shanto (up 10 places to 39th) and Towhid Hridoy (up 12 spots to equal 26th) all made some ground on the rankings for ODI batters, while pacer Shoriful Islam up (11 rungs to 24th) was the big mover on the rankings for ODI bowlers following his five wickets for the series.