DUBAI: Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Shan Masood and Mohammad Abbas have all climbed in the latest ICC Test rankings following impressive performances in the opening Test against the West Indies, despite Pakistan losing the match.
Babar Azam moved up four places to 15th in the batting rankings with 686 rating points after scoring a half-century, while Shan Masood jumped eight places to 36th after his century earned him 590 rating points.
Several other Pakistan batters, however, slipped in the latest update. Saud Shakeel dropped three places to 24th, Mohammad Rizwan fell eight spots to 26th, and Salman Ali Agha slipped four places to 32nd. Imam-ul-Haq retained 53rd place, while Abdullah Shafique dropped to 57th.
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Australia’s Travis Head remains the world’s top-ranked Test batter, followed by England’s Harry Brook and Joe Root.
In the bowling rankings, fast bowler Mohammad Abbas recorded Pakistan’s biggest improvement, climbing nine places to 17th after an impressive display in the series opener. Spinner Noman Ali retained seventh place with 809 rating points, remaining Pakistan’s highest-ranked Test bowler.
Left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi slipped four places to 29th, while spinner Sajid Khan dropped to 35th. Hasan Ali held on to 38th position, with Khurram Shahzad, Asif Afridi, Mohammad Ali and Salman Ali Agha also losing ground in the latest rankings.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the ICC Test bowling rankings, ahead of New Zealand’s Matt Henry and Australia’s Mitchell Starc.
Pakistan leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed also received a boost after his five-wicket haul in the first Test, reflecting his continued impact with the ball despite the team’s defeat.
