SPORTS DESK:

Bangladesh poster boy Shakib Al Hasan once again regained the top spot in the ICC T20 all-rounder rankings outing Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga.

Shakib had held the top sport for quite a few years before losing the throne to Hasaranga last week. However, despite Hasaranga taking two wickets against South Africa, the Lankan captain slipped to second position behind Shakib.

Meanwhile, South Africa pacer Anrich Nortje blasted up the men’s T20i bowling rankings after his stunning display against Sri Lanka.

Nortje returned remarkable figures of 4/7 from his four overs, setting a new record for the best figures by a Proteas bowler in the Men’s T20 World Cups. The previous record was also with Nortje, he picked 4/10 against Bangladesh in 2022 in Sydney.

The 30-year-old’s superb performance has seen him leap up nine places in the Men’s T20I Bowling Rankings, bursting into the top 10 and up to eighth.

Nortje is now the second-highest pace bowler in the rankings, behind Australia’s Josh Hazlewood (in fifth). England’s Adil Rashid remains in top spot, with Hasaranga and Axar Patel rounding off the top three.

Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi also moves up to 10th in the bowing rankings thanks to his superb returns of 5/9 against Uganda at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, with Tabraiz Shamsi and Reece Topley both dropping out of the top 10.

The two Afghanistan opening batters were the other notable movers in the latest update to the men’s T20I batting rankings.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on an 154-run opening stand in their big victory over Uganda at the T20 World Cup this week, and have each jumped four places in the format’s rankings as a result.

The 20-year-old Gurbaz moves into the top 20, with Zadran four spots behind in 24th.

The top 10 remains unchanged with Suryakumar Yadav, the top-ranked batter in the format, joined by England’s Phil Salt and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan in the top three.