ICC T20 Rankings: Pakistan's Babar Azam and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan in top

Indian opener KL Rahul's two impressive knocks in the recently concluded two-match T20 series against Australia helped him climb to fifth in the latest ICC Rankings for T20 batsmen here Tuesday. Rahul, who made a comeback to international cricket after a brief suspension by the BCCI for his sexist comments on a TV show, scored 47 and 50 in the two matches and gained a spot in the latest rankings.

In the bowlers' list, Kuldeep Yadav, who was rested for two T20 Internationals, dropped a place to fifth. Pakistan's Babar Azam and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan remained in top positions in batsmen and bowlers' list respectively.

Pakistan (135) enjoys a 13-point lead over second-placed India (122) with England remaining at third place with 121 points. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid has equalled his career-best third place in the latest rankings. Rashid's five wickets in the series against the West Indies have helped him gain two slots and cross the 700-point mark for the first time in his career during the series.

(With inputs from agencies.)