Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan finally broke his captain's over 1,000-day streak of staying at the top of the T20I ranking when he dethroned him on Wednesday, reports agencies.
In the latest rankings released on the ICC's website, Rizwan has gained 815 points, up 19 points, after his undeterred performance in the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Rizwan is the top run-scorer in the Asia Cup so far with 192 runs, including two fifties in three matches. The Pakistan opener hit fifties against Hong Kong and India, and also made 43 in the first game against India in the tournament.
Babar - who is now a number below Rizwan - had been holding the number 1 spot for 1,155 days in his career (as of 7 September), but his long-lasting reign ended after an ordinary streak of scores during the Asia Cup.
Rizwan has claimed the top position for the first time and he is only the third Pakistan batter to top the T20 batting rankings after Babar and Misbah-ul-Haq.
Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka moved up by a place to No. 8, on the back of his impressive run of form in the tournament. He scored 20, 35 and 52 in his last three matches, with the half-century powering Sri Lanka to victory against India in a chase of 174 on Tuesday and taking the team closer to the final spot.
Nissanka's opening partner Kusal Mendis also took giant steps, advancing 63 places to reach 41st spot after a solid 57 off 37 balls. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka (up 11 places to 39th) and middle-order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa (up 31 places to 68th) have also made big progress.
India captain Rohit Sharma moved to 13th position, a jump of four places, after scoring 72 off 41 against Sri Lanka, while Virat Kohli rose to 29th place after his 44-ball 60 against Pakistan.
Afghanistan's 20-year-old batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who smashed a 45-ball 84, albeit in a losing cause against Sri Lanka in the Super 4 clash, also gained 14 places to move to the 15th position.
Among bowlers, offspinner Maheesh Theekshana gained five spots to be No. 8 and Mujeeb Ur Rahman rose three places to sixth. He is the joint highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup along with Pakistan's Mohammad Nawaz with seven scalps from three games, as on Wednesday.
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