New Delhi:
Rohit Sharma endured a poor series against South Africa in which he managed scores of just 12 and 9 in the two matches in Mohali and Bangalore. However, Rohit also became the leading run-getter in Twenty20 Internationals briefly and his recent run of form has seen him move to the eighth spot in the latest ICC rankings for Twenty20 International batsmen. Rohit has 664 points, the same as Alex Hales. Virat Kohli, who smashed an unbeaten fifty to help India win in Mohali, has actually slipped out of the top 10 while Shikhar Dhawan is closing in on the top-10. However, the big movement is seen by Afghanistan and Scotland players in the list of batsmen and all-rounders.
The latest rankings take into account the India-South Africa series, the Bangladesh tri-series featuring Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, as well as the Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands tri-series. The batsmen rankings has seen the presence of Hazratullah Zazai in the top five. Zazai, who smashed 31 and 47 in the two games of the Twenty20 International tri-series, has 727 points and is the highest by an Afghanistan batsman in history.
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The other notable name in the list is Scotland's George Munsey. Munsey became the first Scotland batsman to reach 600 points after a superb performance in the Twenty20 tri-series that involved Ireland and Netherlands. Munsey blasted 127 off 56 balls and it included five fours and 14 sixes and they won the match against Ireland by 56 runs. However, in the final of the tri-series, Scotland lost by one run to Ireland despite fifties from Matt Cross and Richie Berrington.
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In the T20 team rankings, India are placed fourth below South Africa (3rd), England (2nd) and top-ranked Pakistan. The series in India also saw South Africa's Quinton de Kock move up from 49th to 30th, his highest position in two years, after scores of 52 and 79 not out. Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has reached the top 20 in the bowlers' list for the first time while Andile Phehlukwayo has achieved a career-best ranking of seventh. There were also some interesting facts in the Bangladesh tri-series. Captain Hamilton Masakadza retired from international cricket in 22nd place as Zimbabwe's highest ranked batsman at the time and Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has moved into the top 10 with seven wickets in the series.
