ICC rankings: Shadab second among bowlers: Babar emerges No 1 batsman

LAHORE: Pakistan’s opener Babar Azam has reclaimed the number-one batting ranking while wrist spinner Shadab Khan has vaulted into second position for the first time in his career in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings, which were released on Wednesday following the conclusion of Pakistan versus Windies series in Karachi on Tuesday.Babar, who captained Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2012, was in stellar form when he scored 17, 97 not out and 51 as Pakistan consolidated their position at the top of the team rankings following a 3-0 series win.For this consistency Babar was adjudged player of the series and was also rewarded with a jump of two places, which has made him the highest-ranked batsman in the shortest format of the game for the second time in less than 10 weeks, said the information made available here by the international cricket council here.Babar had first surged to the top on 28 January following the series against New Zealand, before Glenn Maxwell of Australia went top during the Australia-New Zealand-England T20 tri-series on February 7.New Zealand’s Colin Munro finished the series on February 24 as the number-one ranked batsman.When Babar topped the batting rankings in January, he had become the second Pakistan batsman after Misbah-ul-Haq (2008-09) to claim the coveted number-one position.For his efforts in Karachi, Babar earned 95 points, which put him ahead of Munro and Maxwell. Babar now leads Munro by 80 points, while Maxwell is another two points behind.

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