Dubai, Feb 11: Talented wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has moved up a notch to grab a career-best second position in the latest ICC T20 International rankings, where India maintained its second position behind Pakistan despite dropping two ranking points.
Kuldeep scalped two for 26 in the final T20I against New Zealand, which his side lost by four runs to go 2-1 down in the series.
The 24-year-old accounted for well-set openers Tim Seifert and Colin Munro in the only match he played during the series and reaped immediate dividends. He is now second only to Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan in the table.
There are no other Indian bowler in the top-10. Kuldeep's spin bowling partner Yuzvendra Chahal after an indifferent series against New Zealand, dropped six places to be 17th while Bhuvneshwar Kumar maintained his 18th rank.
In the batsmen's list, Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma swapped three places with compatriot KL Rahul, who didn't feature in the recently-concluded series.
The batting chart is headed by talented Pakistani batsman Babar Azam.
Rohit is seventh as per latest rankings while Rahul has slipped to 10th place. Rohit's opening partner Shikhar Dhawan has gained a place to be 11th while Virat Kohli's absence from the series affected his ranking. The Indian skipper dropped four places to be jointly 19th with Zimbabwe's Hamilton Masakadza.
Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya was another spinner to move up as he advanced 39 places to a career-best 58th.
For New Zealand, Kane Williamson (up one place to 12th), Ross Taylor (up seven places to 51st) and Tim Seifert (up 87 places to a career-best 83rd) among batsmen and Tim Southee (up seven places to 30th) among bowlers are some notable gainers.
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Belagavi: The state cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reportedly given its nod to permit cricket matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, subject to certain conditions.
The decision is learnt to have been taken after a meeting held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara has been directed to formulate rules along with a referendum to hold a cricket match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The cabinet’s approval comes subject to conditions, considering the report of Justice D’Cunha, which was prepared after the stampede.
The June 4 stampede during the celebrations for RCB’s maiden IPL title killed 11 people, which raised serious questions over the stadium's capability to host large-scale events.
Will RCB be playing at their home ground next year?
Stating that the “state had learned from the tragedy,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, December 08, dismissed the talks about shifting Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home games out of the city.
He also said that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is the “pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka” and vowed that IPL fixtures will continue to be played there.
On Wednesday, Shivakumar met the newly elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad at the Circuit House in Belagavi and reiterated that cricket matches, including IPL fixtures, will not be shifted out of Bengaluru.
“We have no intention of stopping matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, but crowd control measures and the Michael D. Cunha committee’s recommendations will be implemented in phases,” he told reporters.
Shivakumar said the government is committed to promoting cricket and supporting fans while safeguarding the state’s reputation, adding that Prasad had sought the government’s cooperation and agreed to work jointly on the issue.
