ICC Rankings: Dawid Malan displaces Babar Azam from top spot in T20Is

Malan, whose previous best ranking was second in November last year, is now eight rating points ahead of Azam. India’s K.L. Rahul has lost two places to be fourth and his skipper Virat Kohli has gained a spot to be ninth

England's Dawid Malan progressed four places after a series-topping run aggregate of 129 in the series against Australia.

England batsman Dawid Malan has replaced Pakistan’s Babar Azam at the top of the ICC player rankings for T20I batsmen after a fruitful home series against Australia.

The 33-year-old left-hander has progressed four places after a series-topping run aggregate of 129, which included a player of the match effort of 66 in the first fixture. England won the series 2-1.

Malan, whose previous best ranking was second in November last year, is now eight rating points ahead of Azam. India’s K.L. Rahul, who has not played international cricket in over six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has lost two places to be fourth and his skipper Virat Kohli has gained a spot to be ninth.

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Malan’s teammates Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler have also made headway in Wednesday’s update.

Bairstow has gained three slots to reach a career-best 19th position after scoring 72 runs in the series while Buttler has moved from 40th to 28th after scoring 121 runs in two matches, which also won him the player of the series award.

For Australia, captain Aaron Finch’s 125 runs in the series have helped him retain third position. Glenn Maxwell also holds on to his sixth position among batsmen while gaining one slot to reach second position in the list of all-rounders led by Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi.

England leg-spinner Adil Rashid has gained two slots to reach seventh position after finishing as the most successful bowler in the series with six wickets, while Australia left-arm spinner Ashton Agar’s five wickets have enabled him retain third position, behind the Afghanistan spin pair of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman.

Australia fast bowler Kane Richardson has moved into the top 10 for the first time in his career after taking three wickets in the series while his compatriot Mitchell Starc (up seven places to 18th) and England’s Mark Wood (up 41 places to 79th) have also made notable gains.

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Meanwhile, Australia has reclaimed the top spot in the team rankings after briefly conceding it to England during the series.

Australia started the series 10 points ahead of its rival at 278, but was overtaken after losing the first two matches, when both were on 273 points, with England ahead on decimal points.

Australia, which was number one for the first time in this format at the time of the annual update on May 1 this year, is now on 275 points and England on 271.