India batter Suryakumar Yadav closes gap on No.1 T20I batter Rizwan

DUBAI,: Dynamic India batter Suryakumar Yadav, following another productive T20I series against South Africa, has edged even closer to Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan on the latest ICC Men's Rankings, with only 16 points separating the No.1 and No.2-ranked T20I batters in the world.

With the T20 World Cup round the corner in Australia, Rizwan is on 854 points, while the India cricketer, who slammed two half-centuries in the recently-concluded three-match series at home against the Proteas, is on 838.

Suryakumar continued his stunning rise in 2022 by finishing India's recent T20I series at home, emerging as their leading run scorer with 119 runs. The 32-year-old should get the chance to claim the top spot during the T20 World Cup beginning on October 16.

Rizwan finished the recent seven-match T20I series against England as the leading run scorer with an impressive 316 runs, but the fact the veteran was rested for the sixth game of the series and managed just one in the series decider in Lahore meant the right-hander lost valuable points at the top of the rankings.

The race for the top spot is so tight that Suryakumar could have overtaken his Pakistan counterpart with a big score in the final match of India's series against the Proteas at Indore on Tuesday, but the right-hander was out for just eight.

It means the battle between the two will continue over the next month when both Pakistan and India are among the favourites to win the eighth edition of the T20 World Cup in Australia. IANS

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