ICC Men's T20I Rankings: Ishan Kishan rises to 6th position, Dinesh Karthik & Yuzvendra Chahal also rewarded
India's Ishan Kishan moved up a place to enter sixth position in the latest ICC Men's T20I Rankings among batters.
The 23-year-old southpaw had an incredible series with the bat against South Africa. In five innings, Kishan scored 206 runs at an average above 41 and an impressive strike rate in excess of 150.
Several questions were raised about his selection for the South Africa series as he had a poor strike rate of 120.11 in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. However, Kishan proved his critics wrong and displayed the ability to accelerate and play the fearless brand of cricket that's needed for India's T20 future.
Another big positive for India from the South Africa series was the performances of veteran finisher Dinesh Karthik. The 37-year-old smashed his maiden half-century in T20Is during the series following a fantastic IPL 2022 and proved that age was just a number.
Karthik has moved up by a staggering 108 places in the ICC Men's T20I Rankings among batters and currently sits in 87th position.
Yuzvendra Chahal rises to 23rd position in ICC Men's T20I Rankings among bowlers
Yuzvendra Chahal was surprisingly not a part of India's T20 World Cup squad despite enjoying a highly impressive second half of the IPL 2021 season in the UAE. However, the 31-year-old didn't get disheartened and backed it up with a brilliant IPL 2022, winning the Purple Cap by scalping 27 wickets.
Chahal's was highly expensive in the first two matches of India's series against South Africa, raising doubts once again about his place in the national T20I team. However, he picked up five wickets in the next two games to prove that he is one of the most valuable bowlers for India in this format.
After an impressive series, Chahal moved up three spots to the 23rd position in the latest ICC Men's T20I Rankings among bowlers.
All three of Kishan, Karthik and Chahal have made it into the squad for India's next T20I assignment, a two-match series against Ireland. The matches will be played on June 26 and 28.