Axar Patel breaks into top 3 of ICC men's T20I rankings for the first time

Indian left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel broke into the top three of the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s men's T20I rankings on Wednesday. He's now only behind England's Adil Rashid and Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga and will retain that place for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which begins on Sunday.

Patel jumped from the fourth spot despite not playing any international cricket for months because West Indies' left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, the previous third, slipped five spots after the Men in Maroon's series against South Africa.

That allowed Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana, India's Ravi Bishnoi, Australia's Josh Hazlewood, and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan to go up a position each too. Bishnoi, despite now being ranked joint-fourth, isn't in India's World Cup squad.

New Zealand's Mitchell Santner and Indian left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh also got some gains - to 15th and 16th spot, respectively, - as West Indies' Alzarri Joseph and South Africa's Anrich Nortje dropped down.

England, India, and Sri Lanka all have two players each in the ICC top 10 rankings for men's T20 bowlers ahead of the World Cup.

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Jos Buttler rises to seventh in ICC top-10 batters' rankings

The ICC men's T20 batters' rankings also saw some changes due to the Pakistan-England series. England captain Jos Buttler replaced South Africa's Rilee Roussow at number seven as the latter dropped to 10th. Buttler and other English players had left IPL 2024 midway to participate in the series.

West Indies' Brandon King leaped five places to follow Buttler at eighth position. India's Suryakumar Yadav, England's Phil Salt, Pakistan duo of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, and South Africa's Aiden Markram retained their positions in the top five. A bit down in the chart, West Indies' Nicholas Pooran fell to 18th.

The T20 World Cup will kick off with a match between the US and Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium on June 1.

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