Hardik Pandya reached the summit of the T20I rankings for men’s all-rounders.
Hardik Pandya has ticked off yet another milestone in his career when he became the world’s new No. 1 T20I all-rounder on Wednesday in the wake of India winning the T20 World Cup. Hardik, who finished the tournament with 144 runs and claimed 11 wickets, also became the first Indian among all-rounders to reach the summit, getting there just days after playing a crucial role in the final against South Africa on Saturday, finishing with 3/20.
Hardik, who picked up the wickets of David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen, jumped two places and pushed Wanindu Hasaranga to second. This sums up a memorable campaign for Hardik, whose last World Cup run – in 2023 – was cut short due to an injury. Coming into the T20 World Cup, Hardik was undergoing a torrid run. He endured a tough time as captain of the Mumbai Indians, with the franchise failing to make it to the Playoffs. He was also at the receiving end of severe public hostility, getting booed by the MI hopeful.
But things turned around when he returned in India colours under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. In the final, he had Klaasen out caught behind when the SA batter had pummelled a half-century and had bludgeoned Axar Patel for a 22-run over to bring the equation down to 30 off 30. With Rohit and India bowling Bumrah out, it was left to Hardik to save the game for India, and that’s exactly what he did. Hardik defended 16 off the last over, getting Miller out first ball thanks to a stunning catch from Suryakumar Yadav and holding his nerves to complete the remaining over without damage. As India won the match, Hardik went down on the ground, unable to control his tears.
Besides contributing to the final, Hardik also delivered instrumental performances throughout the tournament. Against Pakistan, Hardik took 2/24, getting Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan out, and 2/14 against USA where India were rocked early. With the bat, Hardik struck an unbeaten half-century against Bangladesh and scored 23 not out and 23 against Australia and England respectively.
Bumrah, Kuldeep also rise
Among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, who was named Player of the Tournament for his tally of 15 wickets, moved up 12 placed to be ranked 11th, his best since the end of 2020. And truth be told, no one deserves it more than him. The India pace spearhead has been literally unplayable the whole T20 World Cup and kept it going till the final.
Bumrah began with a brilliant 3/14 against Pakistan and barring the wicketless game against the USA, kept probing the batters with his incisive line, length and pace. In the final, he cleaned up Reeza Hendricks and demolished Marco Jansen’s stumps to swing the tide in India’s favour.
Kuldeep Yadav, for his 10 wickets, also made positive movements and is ranked a joint-eight. Another one of India’s heroes in the final, Arshdeep Singh, climbed to take the 13th position. Kuldeep was India’s best spinner on the show since springing into action in the West Indies leg. He picked up 2/24 against Australia – dismissing the on-song captain Mitchell Marsh – and proceeded to grab 3/19 against England in the semi-final.
