ICC Rankings: Suryakumar slips to No. 2 in T20I batting list, Rizwan reclaims top spot

Suryakumar Yadav lost his top position in the ICC T20I list by a few ranking points to Mohammed Rizwan of Pakistan, who has regained his pole position in the latest standings published on Wednesday. The difference between the two is a mere 16 ranking points with Rizwan reclaiming his top spot with 854 points and Surya in second spot with 838. Surya continued his stunning rise in 2022 by finishing India's recent T20I series at home against South Africa with two half centuries and as their leading run scorer with a total of 119 runs.

The 32-year-old Yadav should get the chance to claim top billing during the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. Rizwan finished the recent seven-match T20I series against England as the leading run scorer with an impressive haul of 316 runs, but the fact the keeper-batter was rested for the sixth game of the series and managed just one in the series decider in Lahore meant the right-hander lost valuable breathing space at the top of the rankings. The race for the top spot is so tight that Surya could have even overtaken his Pakistani counterpart with a big score in the final match of India's series against South Africa in Indore, but the right-hander was out for just eight. Pakistan captain Babar Azam remained third on the latest T20I batter rankings and should not be discounted from re-claiming his place at the top, while a host of other batters from around the world made giant strides on the latest set of rankings. India opener KL Rahul jumped seven spots to 14th on the updated list on the back of his 108 runs from two matches against the Proteas, while South Africa trio of Quinton de Kock (up eight spots to 12th), Rilee Rossouw (up 23 places to 20th) and David Miller (up 10 spots to