KL Rahul reach sixth position in T20I rankings

Dubai: India opener Lokesh Rahul has gained four berths to reach sixth position while formerly top-ranked Virat Kohli (up two places to 17th) and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (up seven places to 56th) have gained among batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings.

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (up 12 places to 15th) and left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (up 18 places to a career-best 43rd) have also advanced. Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell and Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai have risen after superb shows with the bat in their series against India and Ireland, respectively.

Maxwell, who was the top-ranked batsman in the format a year ago, has gained two slots to reach third position after scores of 56 and 113 not out that helped complete a 2-0 victory in India, Australia's first series win in over a decade against the winners of the inaugural ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2007.

Hazratullah has gained a whopping 31 slots to reach a career-best seventh position after aggregating 204 runs in the 3-0 series victory, that included an incredible 162 not out, the second highest score in T20Is. The left-hander slammed 11 fours and 16 sixes during the 62-ball knock and helped his team post the highest ever T20I total of 278/3.

For Australia, D'Arcy Short has gained eight slots to reach eighth position among batsmen while Nathan Coulter-Nile has gained four slots to reach 45th position among bowlers after taking four wickets against India, including a player of the match haul of 3/26 in the first match.

 Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi has gained 12 slots to reach 30th place and Usman Ghani has moved up 25 slots to 79th among batsmen while Mujeeb-ur-Rehman has moved from 42nd to 40th in the bowlers' list.

For Ireland, Kevin O'Brien has gained 10 places to reach 61st among batsmen while Peter Chase has moved up 22 slots and is now ranked 99th among bowlers.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Men'sT20I Team Rankings, India have retained second position while Australia have overtaken South Africa and England to reach third place and to within two points of India. Afghanistan and Ireland retain eighth and 17th positions, respectively.(UNI)