‘Top-order and middle-order are not synonymous,’ Mohammad Rizwan says of his competition with Suryakumar Yadav. ‘When it comes to us, everything should be looked at differently,’ Rizwan remarked.
The race for the top place in the ICC T20I rankings has been intense in recent weeks. Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and India’s Suryakumar Yadav putting in outstanding performances for their respective sides. Rizwan overtook his team’s skipper Babar Azam to capture the top place last month. Suryakumar Yadav’s efforts against Australia and South Africa saw him get closer to the top slot.
During India’s home series against Australia, South Africa, though. He closed the gap in terms of positions and rating score, and he is now only a few inches away from dethroning Pakistan’s opener. For barely two days during the South Africa home series, the Indian middle-order batter overcame Rizwan to take the No. 1 spot.
Pakistan is presently competing in a tri-series against New Zealand and Pakistan. On Thursday, October 7, Pakistan play Bangladesh in the series opener, and Rizwan led the squad to victory with an unbeaten 50-ball 78*. Rizwan commend the Indian player after the game, but state that because he is an opener and Yadav is a middle-order batsman, critics should judge them differently.
“Suryakumar Yadav is a good player. I enjoy his style of play. But because top-order and middle-order are two different things, things should be viewed differently when talking about us. When I’m batting, I never consider the No. 1 spot in my mind. I contribute to meeting the needs of the team. I don’t give it much thought, but recognitions like Man of the Match and No. 1 batter occasionally have a negative impact,”
Rizwan said.
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With the T20 World Cup coming, the ICC No. 1 ranking is expect to change.
Despite having the opportunity to oust Rizwan and take over as No. 1, Suryakumar was only able to score eight runs in the last T20I of the series against South Africa, resulting in a 16-point deficit between the two batters in the ICC Rankings. Rizwan now has the potential to cement his status in the present tri-series before the start of the T20 World Cup.