'Top-order and middle-order are two different things' - Mohammad Rizwan opens up on competition with Suryakumar Yadav

The competition for the No. 1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings has been very intriguing over the past couple of weeks, as Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and India’s Suryakumar Yadav have put up some tremendous performances for their respective teams. Last month, Rizwan surpassed his team’s skipper Babar Azam to take up the top spot, and Suryakumar Yadav’s performances against Australia and South Africa saw him inching closer to the top spot.

But the India star narrowed the margin in terms of positions and rating tally during the home series against Australia and South Africa, and he is now just a few inches away from toppling the Pakistan opener. The Indian middle-order batter overtook Rizwan to take the No.1 spot just for two days amid the South Africa home series.

Pakistan is currently indulged in a Tri-series against hosts New Zealand and Pakistan. Pakistan played the series opener against Bangladesh on Thursday, October 7, which saw Rizwan leading the team to a win with his unbeaten knock of a 50-ball 78*. After the game, Rizwan praised the Indian batsman for his skills but felt that since he is an opener and Yadav is a middle-order batsman, critics should view them differently.

“Suryakumar Yadav is a good player. I enjoy his style of play. But because top-order and middle-order are two different things, things should be viewed differently when talking about us. When I'm batting, I never consider the No. 1 spot in my mind. I contribute to meeting the needs of the team. I don't give it much thought, but recognitions like Man of the Match and No. 1 batter occasionally have a negative impact,” said Rizwan.

ICC No. 1 spot likely to see changes with T20 World Cup approaching

Despite having the chance to unseat Rizwan and take over as No. 1, Suryakumar was only able to score eight runs in the final T20I of the series against South Africa and lost a few points which created a 16-points gap between the two batters on the ICC Rankings. Rizwan now has an opportunity to solidify his position in the ongoing tri-series before the T20 World Cup begins.