Iftikhar achieves career-best ranking after PAK vs NZ T20I series

DUBAI: Middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed has achieved the career-best position in the latest ICC T20I rankings after his blistering knocks in the recently-concluded PAK vs NZ T20I series. 

Iftikhar moved six places to equal 38th and is the third-highest-ranked Pakistan batter after Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on the current list of T20I batters.

The right-hander scored 36 from 22 in the final T20I on Monday while he baton-charged  Kiwi bowlers in the third match when he smashed a quickfire 24-ball 60. The visitors survived Iftikhar’s brilliance to win that match before beating Pakistan in the final match to level the five-game series 2-2.

Wicket-keeper batter Rizwan, however, retains his second position on the rankings as he closes in on India’s Suryakumar Yadav, who remains the No.1-ranked T20I batter with 906 rating points.

Rizwan thrashed an unbeaten 98 in the last match and ended the series as the leading run-scorer for Pakistan. He rose from 798 to 811 points, bringing down the difference between him and Yadav to less than 100.

Skipper Babar, on the other hand, holds onto third place on the latest T20I rankings, although the right-hander dropped 13 rating points to 756 points after he managed just 19 runs in the fifth match against Kiwis.

The big mover for Pakistan in the latest rankings was all-rounder Imad Wasim, who produced impressive performances with both bat and ball during the series.

“Imad scored 31 in the fifth and final game of the series, but it was his eight wickets at an average of 10.37 during the series that really stood out and the 34-year-old was rewarded on both the bowler and all-rounder rankings.” said the International Cricket Council’s media release on Wednesday.

Imad made his way into the top 100 on the latest rankings for T20I bowlers rankings and also climbed 44 places to joint-24th on the all-rounders’ list.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan holds the highest rank on the T20I bowler charts, while Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan remains the No.1 ranked all-rounder.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, who was the leading run-getter in the PAK vs NZ T20I series, was awarded for his sensational form as he moved up 45 places to a career-best 35th overall.

Chapman hit a match-winning hundred in that fifth game of the series to help New Zealand draw the series.

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