ICC T20I rankings: Rahul, Kohli make gains after series win against Sri Lanka

Image Credits: Twitter/@BCCI

India opener KL Rahul has retained his sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) T20I Player Rankings released after the Men in Blue's 2-0 win over Sri Lanka in the three-match series. 

Rahul, the highest-ranked India batsman, has gained 26 points to reach 760 rating points, just six points behind Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, after notching up scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka. 

Kohli, who is currently the top-ranked player in Tests and ODIs, is standing at the ninth position in the T20I rankings for batsmen while Dhawan is placed 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places to occupy 70th place.

Meanwhile, India’s fast bowlers have also made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed 146 places to take 98th spot while Shardul Thakur has reclaimed 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men’s Team Rankings, India have gained two points but remain in the fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236, the same as Afghanistan to stand at eighth position.

India clinched a massive win by 78 runs in the third and final T20I in Pune to kick off their New Year with a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka. While the Men in Blue won the second T20I by seven wickets, the opening match between the two sides was abandoned due to rain.