DUBAI: Pakistan’s star cricketers Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi have moved up in the latest ICC T20I rankings, released on Wednesday, while former captain Babar Azam has slipped to 7th position.
White-ball skipper Rizwan has moved up two slots to claim the sixth position in the T20I rankings with 713 rating points. His position improved following his impressive 74-run knock in the first T20I against South Africa.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam has dropped to seventh with 710 rating points after being dismissed for a duck in the same match.
Despite their impressive performances, no other Pakistani batter right now features in the top 50 of the T20I rankings, underscoring a gap in Pakistan’s batting line-up.
In the T20I bowling rankings, Shaheen Afridi has scaled six spots, moving from 26th to 20th position, thanks to his outstanding three-wicket haul, which also brought him to 100 wickets in T20I cricket.
On the other hand, Haris Rauf has dropped three places to 23rd, and all-rounder Imad Wasim now holds the 40th spot.
In the ICC Test rankings, vice-captain Saud Shakeel occupies the 9th position, while Babar Azam has climbed to 18th. Spinner Noman Ali has made a return to the top 10, with 10th place, while Shaheen Afridi has slipped to 18th.
Meanwhile, England’s Harry Brook has become the new No.1 ranked Test batter while dethroning fellow teammate Joe Root.
In the ICC ODI rankings, Pakistan’s top batters—Fakhar Zaman (16th), Imam-ul-Haq (18th), and Mohammad Rizwan (24th)—keep their positions, while young opener Saim Ayub has slipped to 79th.
On the bowling front in ODIs, Shadab Khan and Hasan Ali have been slightly dropped in their rankings, with Shadab moving to 99th and Hasan Ali falling o 100th. However, Haris Rauf remains steady at 15th place.
