Babar Azam vs Virat Kohli: Pakistan captain breaks HUGE record of India batter in ICC T20 rankings

Pakistan captain Babar Azam can lay claim to being the top ranked T20I batter in the world for the longest period of time after he maintained his spot at the head of table on the latest ICC T20 batting rankings.

Former India captain Virat Kohli was the No.1 ranked T20I batter for a total of 1,013 days during his reign last decade, but Babar has now surpassed this number following his long-standing stay at the top.

The Pakistan skipper is currently rated as the No.1 batter in T20Is and ODIs and recently suggested he was keen to try and claim top billing in all three formats of the game.

There was little change within the latest T20I rankings that were released by the ICC on Wednesday, with India left-hander Ishan Kishan dropping one place inside the top 10 to seventh on the list for batters.

Babar Azam continues to be at the top with 818 rating points while Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is at the 2nd spot with 794 rating points. in the only T20I he played this year, Babar scored 66 from just 46 balls against Pakistan. He had amassed 939 runs in 29 matches in the shortest format of the game last year as he played a pivotal role in Pakistan reaching the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in the UAE.

Virat Kohli, meanwhile, is at the 21st spot having played only 2 T20Is this year. The India batter hasn’t gone past the 300-run mark in a calendar year in T20Is over the last 3 years.

Here is the list of batter with most day as No. 1 in ICC ranking…
Babar Azam – 1,014 days

Virat Kohli – 1,013 days

Kevin Pietersen – 729 days

Graeme Smith – 690 days

Brendon McCullum – 546 days

Meanwhile, Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson – heroes of India’s four-run win over Ireland in the second T20 – made massive jumps in the ICC T20 rankings on Wednesday (June 29). Hooda, who was adjudged the Player of the Series, scored 47 and 104 in the two games against Ireland in Dublin and as a result moved up 414 places to rise to 104th position in the ranking.

Samson, who scored his maiden T20I fifty on Tuesday (June 28), has gained 57 slots to reach 144th with a knock of 77 in the second match. In the bowlers’ list, Harshal Patel has moved from 37th to 33rd and Mark Adair from 45th to 43rd.