Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has dropped an astonishing six places, falling from third to ninth in the ICC Test Rankings following a disappointing performance in the first Test against Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has climbed seven spots, achieving a new career-high by breaking into the top 10 at joint 10th after scoring a century in the same match.
This leaves Babar just six rating points ahead of Rizwan in the updated rankings for Test batters, with Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel not far behind after moving up one place to 13th overall, thanks to his own century against Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Harry Brook has now secured the fourth spot, while his teammate Joe Root maintains his position as the No.1 ranked Test batter.
Bangladesh’s right-hander Mushfiqur Rahim has reached a career-high rating, climbing seven spots to 17th, while Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal (up four places to 23rd) and Kamindu Mendis (up eight rungs to 36th), along with England’s newcomer Jamie Smith (up 22 to 42nd), also made gains in the Test batter rankings.
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remains at the top of the rankings for Test bowlers, though fellow spinner Prabath Jayasuriya has moved up one place to ninth for Sri Lanka following his five-wicket haul in Manchester against England.
England seamer Chris Woakes (up four rungs to 16th) and Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando (up 10 spots to 17th) have also gained ground, while Pakistan right-armer Naseem Shah (up four spots to 33rd) and England’s Gus Atkinson (up four places to 42nd) achieved new career-best ratings after impressive recent performances.
Woakes has also improved by one place to move up to eighth on the list for Test all-rounders, with India’s spinner Ravindra Jadeja leading that category.
ICC T20I Rankings
There has been significant movement in the latest T20I rankings, with several West Indies players climbing into the top 10 of their respective categories following the first two matches of their home series against South Africa.
Big-hitters Nicholas Pooran (up three spots to ninth) and Shai Hope (up 32 places to joint 40th) have risen in the T20I rankings for batters, while Akeal Hosein has moved up four spots and Gudakesh Motie has gained 10, occupying second and third places respectively in the T20I bowler rankings, just behind England’s Adil Rashid.
South Africa opener Reeza Hendricks (up two places to 13th) has improved his standing in the T20I batter rankings, while Romario Shepherd has made strides in both the T20I bowler (up 13 spots to joint 31st) and all-rounder rankings (up five places to joint 14th) after a series of strong performances against the Proteas.
- Babar Azam
- Mohammad Rizwan
