Travis Head replaces Suryakumar as top T20 batter, Bumrah moves to 24 in ICC rankings
Dubai, Jun 26: Australia opener Travis head on Wednesday toppled India's Suryakumar Yadav as the number one batter in the latest ICC T20 rankings.
Suryakumar was holding the number one spot since December 2023 but Head's splendid run at the T20 World Cup catapulted him to the top even as his team has been knocked out.
Head scored 255 runs with two half centuries, including a 76 against India in a Super Eight contest.
The Australian is two points ahead of Suryakumar (842 points) who dropped a spot to second. However, he has a chance to reclaim the numero uno position as India's campaign at the T20 World Cup is still alive.
England's Phil Salt and the Pakistan duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan round up the top 5 batters.
West Indies' Johnson Charles is the only new arrival into the top 10, up by four spots, with Afghanistan star Rahmanullah Gurbaz a place lower after going up five spots.
Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah jumped a whopping 44 places to zoom to 24th spot while spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also climbed 20 places to be just outside the top-10 at 11th.
Spin all-rounder Axar Patel, who has moved up to eighth, remains the top-ranked Indian bowler.
England's Adil Rashid remains on top of the bowling rankings, but Rashid Khan is up to second after his T20 World Cup heroics, with Josh Hazlewood moving up three places into fourth, behind Hasaranga.
Marcus Stoinis has been knocked off the top spot in the all-rounders' rankings after his short stay as No. 1. He is Stoinis down to fourth, with India's Hardik Pandya up to third, Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan in second, and Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga back to top spot.
Roston Chase of West Indies is the big mover among all-rounders, up 17 places to 12th.
Meet the new No.1 in the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings 🌟
— ICC (@ICC) June 26, 2024
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
