Pakistan vs ICC World XI 2017: Babar Azam rises to 6th spot in ICC T20I Rankings

Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has risen 21 spots to grab a career-best sixth position in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings after his player of the series performance helped complete a 2-1 victory over the World XI in the Independence Cup series played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The 22-year-old started with a fine innings of 86 and followed it up with two other useful knocks of 45 and 48 to finish as the highest run scorer in the series with 179 runs, eight more than his compatriot Ahmed Shehzad, who has gained nine slots to reach joint-22nd position. In the latest rankings update, which also takes into account performances in Saturday’s one-off T20I in Durham which the Windies won against England by 21 runs, Shoaib Malik was another Pakistan batsman to gain as his 94 runs in the Lahore series saw him gain four slots to reach 30th position. Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan has gained 32 places to reach 66th rank among bowlers. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs ICC World XI 2017, 3rd T20I at Lahore

As for the World XI, Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera has gained 16 slots to reach 53rd place among batsmen and has also moved up 13 slots to take 79th position among bowlers, while South Africa batsman Hashim Amla has moved up three places to 12th position. Windies batsman Evin Lewis’s knock of 51 has helped him gain one spot to reach a career-best third position while his opening partner Chris Gayle’s score of 40 has helped him gain four slots to reach joint-22nd position. Among its bowlers, Carlos Brathwaite (up 17 places to 33rd) and Kesrick Williams (up 12th place to 61st) are the major gainers after taking three wickets each in Durham. No ‘overnight miraculous’ return of international cricket to Pakistan: ICC

Similarly, England pace bowler Liam Plunkett (up 15 places to 23rd) and leg-spinner Adil Rashid (up 11 places to 28th) have ensured upward movement after their three-wicket hauls. Meanwhile, the Windies side has overtaken England in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Rankings. The Windies side was in fourth position with 117 points before the match but is now third with 120 points. On the other hand, England has lost four points to slip from second to fourth position with 119 points in the table led by New Zealand with 125 points. Hashim Amla overwhelmed by reception in Pakistan

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 17 September, after the Pakistan v World XI series and England v West Indies one-off match):

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank      (+/-)         Player                    Team     Pts         Avge      S/R        Highest Rating

1           ( – )          Virat Kohli             Ind          826        53.82      136         897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014

2           ( – )          Aaron Finch          Aus         787        38.64      149         892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

3           (+1)         Evin Lewis            WI           780*!     36.00      155         780 v Eng at Emirates Riverside 2017

4           (-1)          Kane Williamson NZ           745        36.29      123         760 v Ban at Napier 2017

5           ( – )          Glenn Maxwell     Aus         718        29.35      167         763 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

6           (+21)      Babar Azam         Pak         713*!     54.00      126         713 v ROW at Lahore 2017

7           ( – )          Alex Hales            Eng         690        32.92      135         866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014

8           (-2)          Joe Root                Eng         683        39.10      129         750 v WI at Kolkata 2016

9           (-1)          M. Shahzad          Afg          664        32.34      137         706 v Ire at Greater Noida 2017

10=       ( – )          H. Masakadza      Zim         657        29.43      120         699 v Ban at Khulna 2016

(-2)          Faf du Plessis      SA           657        36.09      133         843 v Ban at Mirpur 2015

Other selected rankings

Rank      (+/-)         Player                    Team     Pts         Avge      S/R         Highest Rating

12           (+3)         Hashim Amla       SA           651        33.97      131         657 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

22=         (+4)         Chris Gayle           WI           559        35.04      145         831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012

(+9)         Ahmed Shehzad Pak         559        26.61      117         709 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

30           (+4)         Shoaib Malik        Pak         529        28.65      117         577 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009

53           (+16)      Thisara Perera     SL           449!       23.78      150         449 v Pak at Lahore 2017

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank      (+/-)         Player                    Team     Pts         Avge     Eco       Highest Rating

1           ( – )          Imad Wasim         Pak         742        18.72     5.92       780 v WI at Trinidad 2017

2           (+1)         Jasprit Bumrah    Ind          737        18.38     6.70       764 v Eng at Bengaluru 2017

3           (-1)          Imran Tahir           SA           719        15.85     6.80       795 v NZ at Auckland 2017

4           ( – )          Rashid Khan         Afg          717!       14.35     5.91       717 v WI at St Kitts 2017

5           (+1)         M. Rahman           Ban         695*!     14.92     6.16       695 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017

6           (-1)          Samuel Badree   WI           694         17.59     5.79       855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

7           ( – )          James Faulkner   Aus         688!       19.00     7.96       688 v SL at Adelaide 2017

8           ( – )          Sunil Narine         WI           676         20.68     6.02       817 v Pak at St. Vincent 2013

9           ( – )          Shakib Al Hasan  Ban         648        20.82     6.78       672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

10=       ( – )          R. Ashwin              Ind          626        22.94     6.97       765 v SL at Visakhapatnam 2016

( – )          M. Naveed            UAE        626        17.27     6.06       632 v Afg at Dubai (GCA) 2016

Other selected rankings

Rank      (+/-)         Player                  Team       Pts         Avge      Eco       Highest Rating

23         (+15)      Liam Plunkett       Eng         560*!     20.15     7.38       560 v WI at Emirates Riverside 2017

28         (+11)      Adil Rashid           Eng         547         30.10     7.83       561 v Ind at Nagpur 2017

33         (+17)      C. Brathwaite        WI           532*!     28.00     8.26       532 v Eng at Emirates Riverside 2017

61         (+12)      Kesrick Williams  WI           440*!     12.31     6.59       440 v Eng at Emirates Riverside 2017

66=       (+32)      Shadab Khan       Pak         427*!     14.50     6.48       427 v ROW at Lahore 2017

79         (+13)      Thisara Perera     SL           386         27.57     9.14       462 v Pak at Colombo (RPS) 2015

80=       (+20)      Morne Morkel       SA           382         25.34     7.50       646 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

All-rounders (top five)

Rank      (+/-)         Player                    Team     Pts         Highest Rating

1           ( – )          Shakib Al Hasan  Ban         354        408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015

2           ( – )          Glenn Maxwell     Aus         344        388 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

3           ( – )          M. Nabi                Afg            275        286 v Ire at Greater Noida 2017

4           (-1)          Marlon Samuels  WI           270        321 v SL at Mirpur 2014

5           ( – )          Mahmudullah       Ban         203!       203 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017

*indicates provisional rating

!indicates best ranking