ICC Rankings: Phil Salt climbs to number 2 in T20Is among batters
Dec 27, 2023
Dubai [UAE], December 27 : England opener Phil Salt's incredible form has propelled the opener to second on the ICC Men's T20I batting rankings, and a career-high rating of 802.
Salt was one of several players from the high-scoring West Indies v England T20I series in the Caribbean to enjoy a jump after the latest update on Wednesday.
The England opener's scores of 119 and 38 in Trinidad moved him up 18 places, with a career-high rating of 802, 15 rating points clear of Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan in third (787), as per ICC.
Despite Salt's jump, it is daylight between the rest of the field and Suryakumar Yadav in the top spot, with the India batter still well clear on 887.
Fellow English batter Liam Livingstone also enjoyed a batting rankings jump, moving 27 places to 38th after knocks of 54* and 28 across the same matches. Livingstone's work also helped in the all-rounder category, moving four spots up to eighth (175). His move meant compatriots Moeen Ali and Shadab Khan of Pakistan shared an equal-ninth spot (173).
West Indies claimed the five-match T20I series 3-2, claiming victory in the final match, largely on the back of their bowling, keeping England to just 132 before completing a chase in the final over six wickets down.
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein took 2/20 from four overs in the victory, and moved two spots up to fourth (683), overtaking the Sri Lankan pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana (679 and 677 respectively). Gudakesh Motie jumped 75 spots after claiming 3/24 (4) in the same outing, while Reece Topley on the England side has moved into the top 10 bowlers with a 13-spot jump thanks to five wickets across the two matches across the week.
Meanwhile the ODI series between New Zealand and Bangladesh, as well as India's trip to South Africa, has led to a number of minor shuffles.
Shoriful Islam's fine performance with ball in hand saw him climb 24 spots to 35th, while young India left-armer Arshdeep Singh moved up 41 spots, though still outside the top 100.
On the batting side, Najmul Hossain Shanto (up nine spots to equal-49th) made a move, while South Africa's Tony de Zorzi jumped into the top 100 with a move of 39 spots.
Soumya Sarkar's electric innings of 169 (151) against the Black Caps helped him climb 52 spots, while Sanju Samson also jumped up 54 spots to a rating of 405.
Sarkar broke Sachin Tendulkar's 13-year record for the highest ODI score by a sub-continent player in New Zealand, beating The Little Master's 163* in Christchurch.
Samson made 108 (114) batting at No.3 in Paarl, as India defended 296 in the third ODI against the Proteas.
