Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen shine in latest ICC ODI rankings

Pakistan’s cricket stars Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi have made notable progress in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI and Test rankings.

Babar Azam, the former Pakistan captain, remains at the top of the ICC ODI Batting Rankings, holding onto his position with 822 rating points.

This reinforces his status as one of the world’s premier ODI batters. Meanwhile, opening batter Imam-ul-Haq saw a slight dip, moving from 11th to 12th place with 666 rating points.

However, Fakhar Zaman maintained his position in the Top 10, staying at ninth with 675 rating points.

In the ODI Bowling Rankings, Shaheen Shah Afridi saw a significant rise, jumping three places to fourth position with 655 rating points.

His impressive performance in the first ODI against Australia, where he took 2 wickets for 43 runs in 10 overs, contributed to his ascent.

However, pacer Haris Rauf, despite a solid performance with three wickets in the same match, saw a decline, dropping four places to 27th. Naseem Shah remained steady at 69th place with 436 rating points.

In the Test rankings, Babar Azam climbed to 17th in the ICC Test Batting Rankings, despite missing Pakistan’s final two Tests in the series against England.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan also made strides, improving by two places to 20th, while all-rounder Salman Ali Agha moved up to 19th position.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood and his deputy Saud Shakeel faced setbacks. Both players dropped two spots, with Masood falling to 59th and Shakeel to 9th in the Test Batting Rankings.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been in fine form across formats, held onto his 15th position in the Test Bowling Rankings.

Meanwhile, spin bowlers Noman Ali and Sajid Khan retained their positions, and pacer Hasan Ali, who last played a Test earlier this year, moved up by one spot to 35th.