Imad Wasim, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, displaced Imran Tahir as the No.1 ranked T20I bowler in ICC’s latest rankings released on Monday (June 26). Tahir had climbed to the top spot in the standings for bowlers in January this year, but as the legspinner took only one wicket in the recently-concluded T20I series against England, he has slipped to No.3 in the latest list.
Incidentally, this is the first time Wasim has climbed to the summit of the rankings. Japrit Bumrah is ranked second in the standings. Meanwhile, Liam Plunkett, who picked up four wickets in the series against South Africa, has jumped 26 places to be ranked 38 in the list.
Among the batsmen, AB de Villiers, who averaged 73 against England, rose 12 places to find himself back in the top 20 while Virat Kohli remained the No. 1-ranked T20I batsman, with Aaron Finch and Kane Williamson following him at two and three respectively.
England picked up two points after their 2-1 series win over South Africa, which in turn helped them to hold onto their second spot in team rankings. Previously, both Pakistan and England were ranked second. The Asian country has now dropped one place to No.3 in the standings. New Zealand are perched at top of the team rankings for T20Is.
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