ICC Test Rankings: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan suffer steep decline
- Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have seen significant declines in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings.
- Azam’s poor performance in the two-match home Test series.
- Rizwan slipped 12 places to 19th with 678 points.
DUBAI: Pakistan cricketers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have seen a significant decline in their positions in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings, released on Wednesday.
The Pakistan cricket team is currently facing challenges, having lost their first-ever Test series against Bangladesh, followed by a heavy defeat in the first Test against England. As a result, several Pakistani players have experienced drops in their rankings, with none making it to the top ten of the Test rankings at this time.
Babar Azam, who was recently pushed out of the top ten, had a disappointing performance during the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, accumulating only 64 runs across four innings. In the first Test against England, he managed just 35 runs in two innings, leading to his exclusion from the squad for the remainder of the series.
Due to his poor performance, Babar has fallen three places to 15th, holding 684 rating points. Despite this decline, he remains the highest-ranked Pakistani player, thanks to an even steeper fall for Mohammad Rizwan.
Rizwan slipped 12 places to 19th with 678 points after scoring a duck in the first innings and just 10 runs in the second during the Test against England.
In contrast, Salman Ali Agha made significant progress, jumping 11 spots to 22nd, while captain Shan Masood rose 12 places to 51st. Masood scored an impressive 151 runs in the first innings of the Multan Test but managed only 11 runs in the second. Salman Ali Agha had a standout performance in the first Test against England, scoring 104 not out and 63.
Additionally, Shaheen Afridi dropped out of the top ten in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings, now placed 14th with figures of 1-120 in the first Test. His teammates, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed, have also seen declines, landing at 34th and 51st, respectively.
