Pakistan stars rise rankings as England quick closes on No.1

Pakistan's victorious tri-series squad have been the big winners in the latest ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings.

The Asian side cruised to a 75-run victory over Afghanistan in the final of the recent tri-series that also featured hosts UAE, and it was a group of their bowlers that made the largest improvements in the updated T20I rankings.

Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem rises seven places to 15th overall on the back of his two-wicket haul in the final, pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi jumps four spots to 22nd, while leggie Abrar Ahmed improves 39 spots to equal 27th following six scalps from two appearances at the event.

It was fellow spinner Mohammad Nawaz who was adjudged Player of the Series for his 10 wickets and the left-armer was rewarded by climbing 13 rungs to move to 30th overall on the list for T20I bowlers that remains headed by New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy.

Flashy Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman is the big winner on the latest rankings for T20I batters with the left-hander climbing nine spots to 68th following 155 runs during the tri-series, while Sri Lanka top-order player Kusal Perera gains three places to move to ninth following his unbeaten half-century against Zimbabwe in Harare.

Zimbabwe are boosted by the recent performances of veteran Sikandar Raza, who climbs three places to fourth overall on the list for T20I all-rounders following a string of decent efforts against Sri Lanka.

There is also plenty of change on the latest ODI rankings, with players from both England and South Africa making gains following the completion of their recent series that was won by the Proteas 2-1.

The biggest winner was Jofra Archer, with the England fast bowler collecting eight scalps for the series that included a wonderful spell of 4/18 in the series finale at Southampton and he was duly rewarded by climbing 16 spots to move to third overall on the updated rankings for ODI bowlers.

Archer trails No.1 ranked ODI bowler Keshav Maharaj by only 26 rating points, with the South Africa spinner maintaining his place at the top of the rankings following eight scalps of his own across the series against England.

Archer's teammate Adil Rashid improves seven spots to eighth on the same list for ODI bowlers, while England trio Joe Root (up five places to 19th), Jos Buttler (up seven rungs to 35th) and Jacob Bethell (up 56 spots to 65th) all make ground in the rankings for ODI batters.