ICC Rankings: Hardik Pandya moves to career best 5th position after single handedly winning T20I vs Pakistan

Indian all rounder Hardik Pandya’s tremendous rise reflected in the recently released T20I all rounder rankings as he moved into the top 5 all-rounders in the world.

India all rounder Hardik Pandya climbed eight positions in the ICC T20 all-rounder rankings after his exploits against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. Hardik was awarded rank 5 in the T20 all-rounder's list after his match-winning performance with bat and ball.

The rankings reflect Hardik’s tremendous rise since his comeback from injury during the Indian Premier League months, after which the player has not turned back, even for a moment. Hardik claimed 3/25 and then scored 33 not out of just 17 balls against Pakistan, showing how vital his impact will be in India’s T20 World Cup campaign later in the year in Australia.

Pandya is ranked 5th at the moment, lies behind the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Shakib Al Hasan, and Glenn Maxwell, and is expected to make up more places as the Asia Cup progresses in the next week.

Rashid’s compatriot Mujeeb Ur Rahman, meanwhile, has entered the top ten with a seven-spot move up the rankings (660), currently edged out for eighth by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (661), whose 4/26 against Pakistan helped the men in blue for victory.

There were no new entrants in the T20I batting top ten, though there was a push from Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, moving up to second (796) to join Babar Azam (810) in the top two. Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai’s innings of 23 (26) and 37 (28) led to a three-spot rise to 14th (611). Teammate Rahmanullah Gurbaz, meanwhile, moved up five spots to 29th.