Owing to his outstanding performance with the bat in international cricket, Babar Azam is possibly the player who has garnered the most attention in recent months. The Pakistani captain continues to top the ICC Rankings tables thanks to his incredible limited overs cricket success. Babar retained his top spot in the most recent rankings for T20I batting, breaking another record held by former India captain Virat Kohli.
Babar has now held the top spot in the T20I rankings for the longest time, breaking Kohli’s previous mark of 1013 days. The Pakistani captain is presently ranked as the No. 1 hitter in T20Is and ODIs, and he recently expressed a desire to compete for the top spot in all three formats.
In its report ICC said, “The Pakistan skipper is currently rated as the No.1 batter in T20Is and ODIs and recently suggested he was keen to try and claim top billing in all three formats of the game”
While many former cricket players feel that Babar is now the finest hitter in the world, others have suggested turning the “Top 4” of international batting into a “Top 5” that also includes Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Babar.
Mohammad Rizwan, Babar’s Pakistani teammate and the ICC T20I player of the year from the previous year, is ranked second.
Ishan Kishan, who is ranked seventh, is the sole Indian in the top 10. After a strong performance in the home series against South Africa and a respectable performance in the first T20I match against Ireland, Kishan entered the top 10 rankings.
Harry Tector, a promising young batsman from Ireland, climbs a huge 55 slots to 66th after a strong series against India, while Deepak Hooda soars 414 ranks to tie for 104th worldwide.
Changes in Test Rankings
Following the conclusion of England’s home series against New Zealand, there is significant movement behind top-ranked Test hitter Joe Root despite the fact that he maintains a slim lead.
On the most recent batter rankings, Player of the Series Daryl Mitchell moves up four ranks to 12th, while fellow Kiwi Tom Blundell moves up eleven spots to 20th.
Jonny Bairstow, another member of Root’s England squad, also stands out after climbing 20 spots to take 21st place among Test batters.
On the most recent rankings for bowlers, New Zealand’s workhorse Neil Wagner falls one position to 10th, with England’s Stuart Broad and Jack Leach rising 13 spots and 25 spots, respectively.
