Pakistan batsman Babar Azam returned with scores of 68*, 45 and 50 in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia leading to him becoming the no.1 ranked T20I batsman in the latest ICC T20I rankings.

Azam was the highest run-scorer with 163 runs at a strike rate of 117.26, as he helped Pakistan whitewash Australia 3-0. This helped Azam reach the no.1 spot from his previous no.5.

Jason Roy entered the top 10 rankings thanks to his 69 in 36 balls in England’s win over Sri Lanka in the one-off T20I. Roy is at the no.9 with a career-high 688 rating points.

However, the bowling rankings see an interesting development with leg spinners occupying all the top five spots. Rashid Khan, Shadab Khan, Ish Sodhi, and Yuzvendra Chahal held on to their positions in the top four and were joined by Adil Rashid as the new No.5. Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand left-arm spinner, is at No.6 – the only non-leg-spinner.

Latest ICC T20I players rankings:

Batsmen
1. Babar Azam (PAK) - 844 pts
2. Aaron Finch (AUS)- 839 pts
3. KL Rahul (IND) - 812 pts
4. Colin Munro (NZ)- 801 pts
5. Fakhar Zaman (PAK) - 793 pts

Bowlers
1. Rashid Khan (AFG) - 793 pts
2. Shadab Khan (PAK)- 757 pts
3. Ish Sodhi (WI) - 700 pts
4. Yuzvendra Chahal (IND) - 685 pts
5. Adil Rashid (ENG) - 676 pts

(Inputs: ICC)