Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel climb in ICC Test rankings after England series

Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam and middle-order batter Saud Shakeel moved up two places each in the latest ICC Test rankings despite Pakistan's 3-0 series defeat to England.

Babar is now 13th with 684 rating points, up from 15th, while Saud rose from 18th to 16th with 674 points. Former captain Shan Masood moved four places to 37th with 586 points. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, however, slipped one place to 34th with 593 points.

Salman Ali Agha fell one place to 44th with 559 points, while Abdullah Shafique dropped 11 places to 46th with 556 points. Imam-ul-Haq remained at 58th with 506 points, while Razaullah retained his 91st position. Azan Awais climbed six places to 95th with 358 points.

England’s Harry Brook continues to lead the Test batting rankings, with Australia’s Steve Smith in second and England captain Joe Root in third.

Spinner Noman Ali dropped from ninth to 10th with 777 points, while Mohammad Abbas fell one place to 16th with 713 points despite finishing the England series as Player of the Series after taking 13 wickets.

Shaheen Afridi remained 31st with 593 points, while Sajid Khan retained 32nd place with 587 points. Hasan Ali moved down one place to 44th. He last played a Test against Bangladesh in May this year.

Khurram Shahzad remained at 55th, while Ali Usman held 75th place. Mohammad Ali and Aamer Jamal were ranked 81st and 83rd, respectively, while Asif Afridi occupied 91st position.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc retained the top spot among Test bowlers. New Zealand’s Matt Henry was second, while England’s Ollie Robinson moved into third.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Australia’s Pat Cummins both dropped places, with Bumrah now fourth and Cummins fifth.