ODI rankings: Basit Ali labels ICC as Babar Azam’s enemy

Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali has criticised International Cricket Council (ICC) over the latest One Day International (ODI) batters rankings.

Despite Pakistan captain Babar Azam retaining the top spot with 824 rating points, Basit Ali questioned the credibility of the rankings.

Basit Ali pointed out the omission of performing batters like Australia’s Travis Head and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra from the top ten.

He also criticized Indian batter Shubman Gill, who has been struggling with form, for being ranked higher. “Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there?” Basit Ali asked.

The former cricketer referred to the performances in the ODI World Cup 2023, highlighting the centuries scored by Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head, and Virat Kohli.

Commenting over Babar Azam’s performance, Basit said that Pakistan limited overs captain did not score a single century in the World Cup. “What kind of ranking do they give?” Basit Ali questioned.

The former cricketer concluded by saying that even Babar Azam would not consider himself the number one batter, and would instead pick Travis Head or Virat Kohli.