New Delhi: Amid his recent modest returns in franchise cricket for the Adelaide Strikers and MI Cape Town, Afghanistan star leg spinner Rashid Khan continued to cement his place at the top of the ICC bowlers’ rankings in T20 internationals this past week.
According to the latest update of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) T20I bowler rankings published on 29 January, Rashid was again listed as the no. 1-ranked bowler in the format with a rating of 698. However, with similar strong performances over time, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga and England’s Adil Rashid are hot on Rashid’s heels, with ratings of 695 and 692 respectively.
Right arm off spin sensation Mujeeb Ur Rahman also retained his place as the 8th best T20 international bowler in the world with a rating of 677. However, like Rashid, Mujeeb has struggled in franchise cricket of late compared to the standards set at international level, having gone wicketless in several of his appearances for the Melbourne Renegades and the Dubai Capitals.
With the flagship World Cup eight months away and Afghanistan having automatically qualified, Rashid and Mujeeb also retained their positions in the top 10 of the ICC bowler rankings in One Day Internationals at fifth and tenth places respectively.
With former captain Mohammad Nabi in the twilight years of his career and not a single Afghan batsman making the cut near the top of the player rankings in batting, the latest rankings update serves as a renewed reminder that Afghanistan will need Rashid and Mujeeb to be on top form in white ball cricket for the foreseeable future.
Although there was a risk of lack of matches for Afghanistan due to Australia cancelling a bilateral ODI Super League series scheduled for March and amid calls to the ICC to ban the Afghanistan Cricket Board due to the Taliban’s oppression of women’s education and sporting rights, the team is scheduled to fulfill several fixtures before the ODI World Cup later this year, including a series in Bangladesh.
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