Dubai, April 1 (IANS) India’s Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan stay in the top two positions, while South African batter Connor Esterhuizen has continued his upward momentum with significant progress in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings update after his recent performances against New Zealand.

Esterhuizen made a strong start to his international career during South Africa’s recent T20I series in New Zealand, scoring 200 runs and earning the Player of the Series award. He rose from outside the top 100 T20I batters to 39th overall, marking a strong fortnight for the powerful right-hander and the Proteas, who secured a close 3-2 series win.

Esterhuizen’s total of 200 runs was twice as much as anyone else in the five-game series. Additionally, New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Robinson, who moved up two places to tie for 32nd, also advanced on the T20I batting list after scoring 81 runs against the Proteas.

England veteran Jos Buttler has moved up one spot to eighth, while New Zealand’s Tim Seifert has dropped one place to ninth; these are the only top 20 players to change positions this week.

The updated T20I bowler rankings remain led by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, with several South African players emerging as big winners after their performances against New Zealand. The Pace trio of Gerald Coetzee (who moved up 36 spots to tie for 52nd), Ottneil Baartman (up 10 places to 56th), and George Linde (rising six positions to tie for 62nd) make notable progress.

Additionally, the inexperienced New Zealand seamer Zakary Foulkes (up 11 slots to 70th) earns recognition.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza continues to lead the T20I all-rounders list. This week, Coetzee stands out by climbing 14 spots to tie for 72nd place after taking eight wickets and scoring 18 runs in the series against New Zealand.

–IANS

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