Babar Azam falls out of ICC T20I top 10 for first time in eight years

Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam has fallen out of the ICC Men’s T20I top 10 for the first time in eight years, slipping three places to No 12 in the latest rankings update.

The right-handed batter now sits just ahead of teammate Mohammad Rizwan, as both were dropped from Pakistan’s T20I squad earlier this year under new captain Salman Agha.

Babar’s last T20I appearance was in January, where he scored three straight fifties against South Africa before he was out for single figures in his first three innings of against West Indies.

In the recently concluded Pakistan Super League, he scored 288 runs at an average of 36.00 with three half-centuries and a strike-rate of 128.57.

Meanwhile, senior batters Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman experienced declines. The left-handed dropped 10 places to 87th with 406 points, while Rizwan slipped one spots, now positioned at 13th.

On the other hand, Pakistan's dominant 3-0 T20I series whitewash against Bangladesh has reflected positively in the latest ICC T20I rankings.

Explosive opener Mohammad Haris has made the biggest leap, jumping an astonishing 210 places to reach 30th in the batting rankings with 580 rating points.

Haris registered the second-fastest T20I century by a Pakistani batter in the final match of the series, showcasing his destructive potential.

Emerging middle-order batter Hasan Nawaz, who played a key role with the bat throughout the series, also saw a notable rise, moving up 57 places to 45th with 540 points.

Returning youngster Saim Ayub who made an impact in the third T20I, climbed four places to 61st, now sitting at 485 points.

Meanwhile, captain Agha Salman, who contributed 90 runs across the three-match series, jumped 42 places to 75th with 430 points.

In the bowling rankings, Abbas Afridi impressed with his performances, jumping 18 places to 19th with 605 points.

Vice-captain Shadab Khan also surged up the rankings, moving 24 places to 59th, where he is now tied with Abrar Ahmed, who made a massive 45-place leap.

Conversely, bowlers Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Afridi saw dips in their rankings, now positioned at 94th, 83rd, 19th, and 36th, respectively.

New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy holds the top spot in the bowling rankings, followed by West Indies’ Akeal Hosein in second and India’s Varun Chakaravarthy in third.