Sanju Samson Jumps Big, Sahibzada Farhan Challenges Abhishek Sharma In ICC Rankings

Sanju Samson and Sahibzada Farhan [Source: AFP]

In a significant development, the ICC announced the updated T20I player rankings on Wednesday, March 4. Swashbuckling Indian batter Sanju Samson made significant progress of 25 places following his batting exploits that eliminated the West Indies and confirmed India's semifinal slot in the T20 World Cup. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan's opening batter Sahibzada Farhan earned crucial rating points, threatening Abhishek Sharma's number one position in the ICC T20I rankings for the batters. 

Sanju Samson rewarded for T20 World Cup blitz

Explosive Indian batter Sanju Samson had a memorable outing in the high-voltage India Vs West Indies T20 World Cup match. After the West Indies posted a challenging total of 195 runs, the Indian team had a disastrous start, losing the valuable wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan in quick succession. 

Also read: Sanju Samson Placed In The League Of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma

However, Samson bailed his team out of trouble with a flamboyant knock of 97 runs, staying unbeaten and powering India to the semifinal of the tournament. 

The Kerala batter, who hammered twelve boundaries and four sixes in the must-win encounter, moved 25 places up to the 40th spot in the updated ICC T20I rankings. 

Sahibzada Farhan gets career-best rating in ICC rankings

In another notable development, dynamic Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan attained his career-best ratings for his remarkable consistency in the T20 World Cup. Farhan, who blazed his way through to 383 runs at an average of 76.60 and a blistering strike rate of 160.25, moves one spot up to the second position, with a career-best rating of 848 points. 

Thus, despite failing repeatedly with the bat, Indian batter Abhishek Sharma retains his first position in the ICC rankings. The swashbuckling southpaw has had a forgettable T20 World Cup campaign so far. 

He has managed only 80 runs in six innings at a miserable average of 13.33. So, if Abhishek doesn't recover his mojo and keeps losing his rating points, we might see Sahibzada Farhan at the top of the pile in the next week. 

Other notable movements in ICC T20I rankings

India's left-handed batters- Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma - have gained one place to finish the week as the fourth and sixth-ranked T20I batters, respectively. 

Ishan has struck 224 runs at a superb strike rate of 185.12 in this T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Tilak looked sublime touch in the recent encounters against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, resulting in his rise on the batters' list. 

Zimbabwe batting sensation Brian Bennett, who broke one of Virat Kohli's elite records and scored 292 runs in the T20 World Cup, moves six places up to the 11th. On the other hand, South Africa's Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton make notable progress to claim the eighth and 13th positions, respectively. 

Varun Chakaravarthy and Sikandar Raza retain the top spots in the ICC rankings for T20I bowlers and all-rounders, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has surpassed Saim Ayub, claiming the second position in the all-rounders' category, with Jasprit Bumrah (up one spot to 7th) and Arshdeep Singh (up six places to 13th) making rapid strides in the bowlers' rankings. 

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