Babar Azam drops further in ICC ODI batting rankings as Shaheen climbs

Pakistan batter Babar Azam dropped two places to ninth in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings, while Shaheen Shah Afridi climbed to sixth in the bowling rankings released on Wednesday.

Babar has scored 118 runs in four matches in the ongoing ODI tri-series featuring Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. The former Pakistan captain has struggled to convert his starts into big scores during the tournament.

Shaheen, meanwhile, moved up two places to sixth after taking eight wickets in four matches in the tri-series.

Pakistan fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah slipped in the latest bowling rankings, dropping nine places to 29th and six places to 53rd, respectively.

Spinner Abrar Ahmed fell one place to third, behind Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, who retained the top spot, and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj, who remained second.

Young spinner Arafat Minhas climbed 15 places to 68th in the bowling rankings after taking six wickets against England in the tri-series.

In the batting rankings, Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha dropped one place to 13th. He scored a century against Sri Lanka in the opening match but managed 51 runs across his next three appearances.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan fell eight places to 42nd, while Fakhar Zaman dropped two places to 46th.

All-rounder Shadab Khan was among the biggest gainers, rising 32 places to 92nd in the batting rankings after scoring a match-winning century against England.