Babar Azam retains top spot in the ICC’s ODI batting rankings

DUBAI – Pakistan skipper Babar Azam continued to rule the ODI batting rankings, but he dropped by one spot in Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.

South African players are the major gainers in the rankings as Heinrich Klaasen rose 13 spots to 30th after he hit a brilliant century in the Proteas' impressive victory over the West Indies in the third and final match of the series in Potchefstroom, while Temba Bavuma improves 17 places to 33rd following his big knock in the second game in East London.

On the bowling side, India pacer Mohammed Siraj copped the brunt of the attack by Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head during the second match of his side's ODI series with Australia and as a result has lost his place at the top of the rankings for ODI bowlers.

Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood - who is absent from the ongoing series in India - re-claims pole position ahead of New Zealand left-armer Trent Boult, with Siraj dropping into a tie for third with in-form quick Mitchell Starc.

West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph jumps to a career-high rating and 11th place on the ODI bowling rankings following a strong series against South Africa, while teammate Akeal Hosein (up four spots to 20th) is another big mover.

In the Test rankings, Australia's Marnus Labuschagne holds on to the top spot for Test batters while New Zealand’s  veteran batter Kane Williamson jumped to second place.

Williamson improved a total of 51 rating points on the weekly update to have a total of 883 points and sit just 32 points behind Labuschagne in the lead as the 32-year-old looks to re-claim the No.1 ranking mantle he held after New Zealand’s triumph in the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final.

“It means Steve Smith (third), Joe Root (fourth), Babar Azam (fifth) and Travis Head (sixth) all drop one place, while Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (10th) takes the spot of India captain Rohit Sharma inside the top 10 after he scored three half-centuries in the series against New Zealand,” reads ICC blog.

Babar Azam to receive Sitara-e-Imtiaz on March 23