Marcus Stoinis becomes No.1 ranked all-rounder in ICC T20I rankings

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has toppled Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi to become the top-ranked all-rounder in the ICC's updated T20I rankings. The 34-year-old accomplished the feat on the back of his all-round performances in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Stoinis struck an unbeaten 67 and took three wickets against Oman to bag the Player of the Match award. The West Australian also played a cameo of 30 against England and snared a wicket, followed by another two scalps against Namibia.

With the 2021 T20 World champions under pressure against Scotland in pursuit of 181, he struck a whirlwind 60 as Australia sneaked home by five wickets. The Aussie all-rounder, Wanindu Hasaranga and Shakib Al Hasan are in the top three but Nabi has slipped to the fourth spot.

Marcus Stoinis reveals injury prevented him from bowling against Scotland

Marcus Stoinis. (Image Credits: Getty)

With the veteran not rolling his arm against Scotland, the possibility of him resting for the clash was floated. However, the hard-hitting all-rounder suggested that it would have affected the team balance.

Speaking on The Unplayable Podcast, he claimed:

"I was a touch sore. It was talked about whether to play or to rest – I wanted to play – but then it meant I can't bowl, which also hurt the balance of the team. So it was left in the coaches' and selectors' hands as to if that balance was going to be right (given) we played a lot of spinners. But that's all it was – I wanted to keep batting."

Australia will face Bangladesh in their first Super 8 clash on Friday (June 21). Mitchell Marsh and Co. are among the unbeaten teams in the tournament along with India, South Africa, and the West Indies and are genuine contenders to lift the trophy.

The former champions were knocked out of the tournament in the group stage of the 2022 edition in Australia.