Sanju Samson gained 18 places in the latest ICC T20I batting rankings released on Wednesday, March 11. The star Indian batter surpassed the likes of Babar Azam and Saim Ayub to jump to 22nd position in the updated rankings.
Samson led the scoring chart for India with 321 runs in just five innings at a strike rate of 199.37. He recorded three consecutive 85+ scores in the last three matches to lead India to the title. His heroics in the World Cup also earned him the Player of the Tournament award.
Sanju Samson now boasts his career-high rating of 637. He is India's fifth-highest-ranked T20I batter in the latest rankings, behind Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tilak Varma.
Meanwhile, star Pakistani cricketers suffered in the latest rankings after their disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. Tournament's leading run-scorer, Sahibzada Farhan, slipped to the third position, while the struggling duo of Saim Ayub and Babar Azam moved to 36th and 37th position in the batting rankings, respectively.
Sanju Samson leads India's dominance in the ICC T20 rankings
Apart from Sanju Samson, in-form Ishan Kishan and Shivam Dube also witnessed a rise in the latest ICC rankings. Ishan Kishan moved to the second position to achieve his career-high rankings in the T20Is, while Shivam Dube, who shone with the bat in the T20 World Cup, rose four places to the 27th position.
Hardik Pandya also rose one place to reach No. 48 in the chart, making it six players in the top 50 of the ICC T20 batting rankings. However, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav's inconsistent performances cost him, as he slipped two places to 10th position.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma kept his crown after scoring a quickfire fifty in the T20 World Cup final. The young Indian opener struggled for big knocks throughout the tournament, but his 52 off 21 balls innings against New Zealand proved crucial for India's dominant win in the final. He remains at the top with 875 ratings, but is closely followed by Ishan Kishan with 871 ratings.
Also read: The rise, the slip: Varun Chakravarthy dethroned in ICC rankings despite World Cup glory
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