Hardik Pandya crowned No.1 T20I all-rounder in latest ICC rankings

India vice-captain Hardik Pandya has been crowned the No.1 all-rounder in the latest T20I rankings released by ICC. He played a very crucial role in India winning the final of T20 World Cup 2024 defending 16 runs successfully apart from picking the wicket of Heinrich Klaasen to turn the game on its head. He picked up three wickets for just 20 runs in the final and scored a vital 23 off 13 balls in the semifinal against England.

Hardik jumped two places to grab the top spot in the all-rounders rankings and is on level terms with Sri Lanka's T20I captain Wanindu Hasaranga at the moment with 222 rating points. However, Pandya is on top with difference of fraction. Marcus Stoinis of Australia is at the third position while Sikandar Raza and Shakib Al Hasan complete the top five all-rounders in the latest update. Interestingly, Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi who was on top of the rankings at one



stage during the T20 World Cup has been dropped out of top five and is now at sixth place with 205 rating points.

Coming back to Hardik Pandya, he was India's Most Valuable Player at the T20 World Cup 2024 as he scored 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57. He also picked up 11 wickets, third highest for India after Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah who scalped 17 and 15 wickets respectively.

Axar Patel is another Indian player who has take big strides in the rankings among all-rounders and he is at the 12th position. He scored a crucial 47 in the final of T20 World Cup and also picked up a wicket. The left-arm spinner won the player of the match award for India in the semifinal against England for scalping three wickets. He has jumped seven places and is now at 12th position in the all-rounders rankings with 164 rating points to his name.