Virat Kohli moves up in ICC T20I Batting Rankings; Babar Azam overtakes KL Rahul

Virat Kohli reclaimed the No. 5 spot in the ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen following his back-to-back half-centuries against England. The Indian skipper moved up one place, replacing South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen in the top five.

KL Rahul’s struggles in the ongoing India vs England series have seen him drop to fourth place in the ICC T20I Rankings. The opener is now just 27 points ahead of Virat Kohli.

Back-to-back fifties in the ongoing #INDvENG series have helped Virat Kohli reclaim the No.5 spot in the @MRFWorldwide ICC T20I Player Rankings 👀Full list: https://t.co/iM96Oe6eu6 pic.twitter.com/JkxEyZGTLr

— ICC (@ICC) March 17, 2021

The ICC released the latest edition of the rankings on Wednesday, with Dawid Malan and Aaron Finch maintaining their place as the top two T20I batsmen in the world. Babar Azam replaced KL Rahul to round out the top three.

Virat Kohli has gained a massive 47 points after his stunning knocks of 73* and 77* in the last two games against England. The 32-year-old is the top run-getter in the series with 150 runs in three matches.

While Virat Kohli has moved up, there was disappointment in store for KL Rahul - India’s top-ranked T20I batsman.

The opener has failed to fire in three games, registering scores of 1,0,0 against England. His poor form has seen him drop to fourth place in the ICC T20I Rankings.

Jos Buttler also gains big following match-winning innings

Top team performance 💪 pic.twitter.com/lFjuZI5ez9

— Jos Buttler (@josbuttler) March 16, 2021

Jos Buttler’s electric performance a day before the ICC updated their T20I Batting Rankings has seen him gain five positions. The opener is now ranked 19th, which is just two places shy of his career-best of 17th that he achieved in October 2018.

His belligerent 83* in the third T20I guided England to an eight-wicket win over India, as the visitors took a 2-1 series lead in Ahmedabad.

Jonny Bairstow stitched together an unbeaten 77-run stand with Buttler to take England over the line, and the batsman moved up two places to 14th place.

The top ten in the ICC T20I Batting Rankings remain relatively stable apart from Virat Kohli’s rise. New Zealand batsman Devon Conway broke into the top 10, sneaking into 10th place with 660 points.