Shaheen Afridi rises in ICC rankings as Babar Azam slips

Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has climbed the ICC ODI bowling rankings, while star batter Babar Azam has slipped to ninth position following contrasting performances in the ongoing home tri-series against England and Sri Lanka.

The latest ICC Men’s ODI rankings, released on Wednesday, highlighted Pakistan’s mixed fortunes, with Shaheen gaining ground among bowlers and Shadab Khan emerging as one of the biggest movers after his match-winning heroics against England.

Shaheen moved up two places to sixth after taking eight wickets in four matches during the tri-series. His consistent performances have strengthened Pakistan’s bowling attack ahead of the tournament final.

However, fellow pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah suffered setbacks. Rauf dropped nine places to 29th, while Naseem fell six spots to 53rd. Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, who has yet to feature in the series, slipped one position to third.

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan retained the top spot in the ODI bowling rankings, followed by South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj.

Babar Azam, Rizwan Suffer Ranking Setbacks

In the batting rankings, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam dropped two places to ninth after scoring 118 runs in four matches. Despite several opportunities, the right-hander has been unable to produce a major innings during the competition.

All-rounder Salman Ali Agha also slipped one place to 13th. After opening his campaign with a century against Sri Lanka, Salman managed only 51 runs across his next three appearances.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who has been dropped from Pakistan’s ODI squad, fell eight places to 42nd. Meanwhile, opening batter Fakhar Zaman dropped two positions to 46th following a difficult run with the bat.

 Shadab Khan Makes a Stunning Leap

While several Pakistan players lost ground, Shadab delivered a remarkable rise after producing a sensational innings against England.

The all-rounder climbed 32 places to 92nd in the ODI batting rankings after smashing an unbeaten 113 off 96 balls to guide Pakistan to a dramatic one-wicket victory.

Pakistan appeared on the brink of defeat at 154-9 while chasing England’s target of 242. However, Shadab and Haris Rauf turned the contest around with an unbeaten 89-run partnership for the 10th wicket, securing a memorable win and Pakistan’s place in the tri-series final.

Shadab’s performance also lifted him 17 places to 50th in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings.

In contrast, Salman dropped to 16th and Shaheen slipped to 19th in the all-rounder standings.

With the final approaching, Pakistan will hope Shaheen maintains his bowling form and Shadab continues his impressive run, while Babar and the other struggling batters look to rediscover their rhythm.