Pakistani players secure top spots in latest ICC ODI, Test rankings

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday released the latest ODI and Test Rankings with Pakistani cricketers making significant strides. 

Former skipper Babar Azam maintained his position as the top ODI batter with 822 rating points while Fakhar Zaman also retained his number in the Top 10, sitting at ninth spot with 675 rating points.

However, opening batter Imam-ul-Haq dipped slightly from 11th to 12th with 666 rating points.

On the other hand, Shaheen jumped three places to secure fourth position in the ODI bowling rankings. His brilliant outing with the ball in the first ODI against Australia, where he returned brilliant bowling figures of 2/43 in his 10 overs, earned him 655 rating points.

However, despite leading Pakistan’s strong show in the aforementioned fixture with three wickets, Haris Rauf suffered a decline, dropping four places to 27th. Whereas, Naseem Shah remained firm at 69th spot with 436 rating points.

In Test Batting Rankings, star batter Babar, despite missing Pakistan’s remaining two Tests of the three-match series against England, climbed up to the 17th place.

Besides him, wicketkeeper batter Rizwan and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha made notable strides.

Rizwan’s ranking improved by two places to 20th, while Agha moved up to 19th.

On the contrary, Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood and his deputy Saud Shakeel suffered sharp declines, both dropping two spots, to 59th and ninth respectively.

Proving his mettle as an all-format bowler, Shaheen clung to his 15th spot in the Test Bowling Rankings, while the spin duo of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan also maintained their spots.

Whereas, right-arm pacer Hasan Ali, who last played a Test earlier this year, moved up by one place to 35th.