Hardik Pandya becomes first Indian to be ranked No. 1 T20I allrounder

Hardik Pandya has become the first Indian to occupy the No. 1 spot for T20I allrounders, as per the latest ICC rankings. He climbed two spots to join Sri Lanka captain Wanindu Hasaranga at the top following his all-round contributions in India’s successful T20 World Cup campaign, where they went unbeaten to lift the trophy.

Pandya smashed 144 runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151, while also bagging 11 wickets at 17.36 in the West Indies and USA. That included a match-winning haul of 3 for 20 in the final against South Africa, which India won by seven runs to lift the trophy. Pandya’s best performance with the bat in the World Cup came against Bangladesh, as he hit 50* off 27 balls.

His team-mate Jasprit Bumrah, the Player of the Series in the T20 World Cup, meanwhile made big gains in the bowlers’ rankings. Bumrah rose 12 places to No. 12 after claiming 15 wickets at an average of 8.26, and an economy of just 4.17. With South Africa requiring only another 30 runs from the last five overs in the final, it was Bumrah’s spell towards the end which helped turn the game around for India.

Among other India players to make gains on the table were left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, who got ten wickets at 13.90 in the World Cup, as he moved up three positions to be joint-eighth among the bowlers. Seamer Arshdeep Singh, the joint-highest wicket-taker in the competition with 17 wickets, gained four places to be ranked a career-best No. 13.

Meanwhile, South Africa quick Anrich Nortje climbed seven places to a career-high No. 2 among the bowlers after being their highest wicket-taker in the World Cup. His 15 wickets came at an average of 13.40, and an economy of 5.74.

Also, the quartet of Marcus Stoinis, Sikandar Raza, Shakib Al Hasan and Liam Livingstone rose one spot each to be ranked No. 3, 4, 5 and 8, respectively, among the allrounders.