DUBAI: Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam has improved his standing on the T20I batters’ list after the latest ICC rankings update on Wednesday.

Babar jumped a spot to third on the charts after New Zealand Devon Conway’s absence from New Zealand’s series against Sri Lanka led to a slump in his rankings.

Kiwi batter dropped two places to fifth on the latest set of rankings with South Africa’s Aiden Markram taking fourth place.

No.1-ranked Suryakumar Yadav and second-placed Mohammad Rizwan, however, retained their positions on the table.

Babar and his opening partner in the shortest format, Rizwan, have an opportunity to close in on the Indian star as the duo will be in action when Pakistan commence their five-matches home T20I series against New Zealand on Saturday.

“While Suryakumar currently holds a commanding lead at the top of the T20I rankings for batters with 906 rating points, second-placed Rizwan (811) and third-placed Babar (755) could make gains while the India star is plying his trade in the IPL,” said ICC in a media release.

Meanwhile, on the bowler rankings, Maheesh Theekshana moved up to fifth on the list while his teammate Wanindu Hasaranga dropped two places to fourth. thanks to their contrasting performances in the recent T20I series against hosts New Zealand.

As a result of Hasaranga’s ranking dip, Afghanistan pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi (second) and Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood (third) both climbed a spot.

it is worth mentioning here that Afghanistan now hold the top two spots on the T20I bowlers’ charts as spinner Rashid Khan leads Fazal Haq Farooqi in a close contest for top billing.

READ: Michael Jordan sneakers fetch auction record $2.2 mn