India all-rounder breaks into Top 3 of ICC Men's T20I rankings for the first time

According to the latest ICC T20I rankings, a talented Indian all-rounder has entered into the Top 3 for the first time in his career. 

Dynamic left-hander Axar Patel has jumped from the fourth spot to the third place despite not playing any international cricket recently. This is because West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, who previously held the third spot, slipped five places after their series against South Africa.

Axar is now only preceded by England's Adil Rashid and Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga. The climb will boost Axar's confidence as he will retain the third place going into the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. 

Akeal's drop in the rankings has also enabled Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana, India's Ravi Bishnoi, Australia's Josh Hazlewood, and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan to each move up one spot.

Meanwhile, left-arm Indian fast bowler Arshdeep Singh climbed three spots to No. 16 after South Africa speedster Anrich Nortje fell six places.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli not in Top 10 batter's list

Suryakumar Yadav continues to hold the top spot in the T20I batting rankings with 861 points, maintaining a 73-point lead over Phil Salt, who is in second place. Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only other Indian player in the top 10 T20I batting rankings. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and Indian captain Rohit Sharma are ranked 47th and 52nd, respectively.

Hardik Pandya remains India's leading T20I all-rounder, positioned at No. 8, despite not being in his best form recently.

Speaking about the Men in Blue, they are set to kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5. 

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India has been placed in Group A alongside archrivals Pakistan, co-hosts USA, Ireland and Canada. 

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