Tilak Varma surpasses Suryakumar Yadav to become India’s highest-ranked T20I batter

Tilak Varma. (Source – Getty Images)

Tilak Varma took the cricket fraternity by storm during the recently-concluded four-match T20I series between India and South Africa when he slammed two consecutive tons, in Centurion and Johannesburg. He requested captain Suryakumar Yadav to give him an opportunity to bat at No. 3 after the second T20I and the veteran selflessly accepted. Tilak went on to slam back-to-back centuries to showcase his talent on the world stage.

Tilak finished the series as the highest run-getter, amassing 280 runs from four innings at an average of 140 and a strike rate of 198.58. His magnificent outings catapulted him to No. 3 in the latest ICC rankings for T20I batters. Tilak, who broke into the top 10 for the first time, is only behind Travis Head and Phil Salt currently. The Hyderabad batter jumped a staggering 69 spots with his excellent batting exploits. Meanwhile, former top-ranked batter Suryakumar managed only 26 runs from three innings and slipped to No. 4.

Sanju Samson also smashed two centuries in the series but failed to get off the mark in the two other outings. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter climbed 17 spots to 22nd in the latest batting rankings. Samson has looked in sublime touch of late. It seems that he has been enjoying the backing of the team management.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only other Indian player in the top 10 of the men’s T20I rankings for batters as the Mumbai batter, who hasn’t played T20 cricket since July, finds himself at No. 8.

Hardik Pandya reclaims No. 1 all-rounder’s spot

Hardik Pandya reclaimed the top spot in the all-rounder’s rankings in T20Is, dethroning England’s Liam Livingstone. The Baroda all-rounder scored 59 runs and took two wickets as well in the series against South Africa.

Also Read: SMAT 2024: Hardik Pandya to play under brother Krunal’s captaincy for Baroda

The year 2024 turned out to be a memorable year for the Men in Blue in the shortest format as they won 24 out of the 26 matches. Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, India won the T20 World Cup for the second time in June.