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Bhuvi jumps to 12th, Kohli drops to 6th in T20I rankings
Dubai, Feb 25 (IANS) Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar jumped 20 places to be 12th, while captain Virat Kohli dropped three places to be sixth in the Twenty20 International (T20I) bowling and batting rankings revealed on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar picked up seven wickets in the three-match series against South Africa as India won 2-1. Fellow Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah moved a place down to be fifth in the rankings, which are topped by Afghanistan’s leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan.
New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi has gained one position to take second rank but is 59 points adrift of Rashid.
Kohli managed to score only 27 runs in the two T20Is, leading him to drop points and sit sixth in the batting rankings, which are led by New Zealand opener Colin Munro. India opener Shikhar Dhawan moved up 14 places to a career-best 28th spot.
Left-handed Munro has gained three slots after scoring 176 runs in the Trans-Transman series, which came with the help of two fifties and at a strike-rate of almost 210.
The latest rankings update includes performances in the Trans-Transman series in New Zealand that also featured Australia and England, a three-match series in South Africa that India won 2-1, and Sri Lanka’s 2-0 win over hosts Bangladesh.
Rashid, who last week became the youngest male cricketer to be top-ranked in the ICC rankings when he rose up to joint-first in ODIs, has moved up after taking five wickets in the two-match series in Sharjah to complete the double.
“Proud and big honour to be NO 1 Odi and No 1 T20 bowler. Thanks to everyone for your support and Love,” 19-year-old Rashid wrote on Twitter.
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell became the top-ranked all-rounder. Maxwell regained the top slot for all-rounders scoring 233 runs and grabbing three wickets in the tournament. The right-hander is also the second-ranked batsman.
Meanwhile, India have gained one point and South Africa have lost one point in the team rankings after their closely-fought series and retain their third and seventh positions, respectively.
Pakistan are on the top of the table at 126 points but only fractionally ahead of Australia.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.