Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav’s quick-fire half-century in the second match of his team’s T20I series against South Africa has been rewarded with some important points in the ICC rankings. The new rankings have shown a further rise in his ratings at the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Batsmen Rankings.
Suryakumar Yadav He scored 56 runs off just 36 deliveries to guide India to a respectable 180/7 in a rain-affected match. However, India fell short in the thrilling clash at Gqeberha, losing the game by five wickets. Suryakumar Yadav scored a total of 10 rating points and further increased his lead as the No. 1 batsman in the T20 format of the game.
The Indian right hitter now has 865 rating points in the ranking and is 78 points ahead of his closest rival, Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan (787 rating points), and 107 points ahead of South Africa’s No. 3 Aiden Markram ( 758). The ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is less than six months away and Suryakumar Yadav will likely remain in the number one position during that time.
Suryakumar Yadav is No. 1 in T20Is from 2022 after T20 World Cup
Suryakumar Yadav took first place during the recent edition of the T20 World Cup in Australia. He scored a century against New Zealand, just after the ICC T20 World Cup at the end of last year, and reached the No. 1 spot. Going by his current form, it seems that the current Indian t20 captain is likely to occupy that position ahead of to next year’s tournament scheduled in the West Indies and USA.
South Africa opener Reeza Hendricks is also following Suryakumar after he moved up one place to eighth position following his knock of 49 against India in the second T20I. Tilak Varma (up 10 spots to 55th) and Rinku Singh (up 46 spots to 59th) also caught up and caught the eye alongside their more experienced teammate. Rinku scored his first T20I half-century in the second T20I against the Proteas.
India will now face South Africa in the final T20I of the series in Johannesburg where the Men in Blue will hope to level the series. Currently, South Africa leads the series 1-0 and the Proteas will give everything to win the series against India.
