Pakistan’s cricket stars have made notable gains in the latest ICC rankings after impressive performances in Sri Lanka series, with batter Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, and spinner Abrar Ahmed grabbing the headlines.
Babar Azam climbed one spot to sixth in the ODI batting rankings following his unbeaten 102 in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi last week.
Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman also moved up five places each to reach 22nd and 26th positions, respectively, after scoring two half-centuries each during the same series.
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On the bowling front, leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed entered the top 10 for the first time in his career, rising 11 places to ninth after his three-wicket haul in the second ODI against Sri Lanka.
Fast bowler Haris Rauf also improved five spots to 23rd, while fellow pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr jumped 20 places to 64th.
Shaheen Afridi, however, dropped five positions to 21st.
READ: Pakistan seal third consecutive ODI series win over Sri Lanka with six-wicket triumph
Globally, New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell became the first Kiwi batter since Glenn Turner in 1979 to top the ICC Men’s ODI batting rankings, following his match-winning century against the West Indies.
Former Indian captain Rohit Sharma, now sits second, while Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran is third.
In other developments, Pakistan spinner Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah saw small dips in the ODI bowling rankings, while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan retained his number one position.
Naseem Shah slipped to 36th, while Mohammad Nawaz fell to 71st.
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Pacer Haris Rauf moved up five places to 23rd after his match-winning spells in the Sri Lanka series, which earned him the Player of the Series award.
The ICC Men’s Test rankings also saw career-best climbs for South Africa captain Temba Bavuma, reaching fifth among batters, and India’s Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja improving their bowling positions.
Meanwhile, in T20Is, New Zealand’s Tim Robinson and Mitchell Santner made significant progress.
