Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi climbed two places in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings, while star batter Babar Azam suffered a decline in the updated standings released on Wednesday.
Shaheen moved up to sixth position following his impressive performances in the ongoing home ODI tri-series against England and Sri Lanka.
The left-arm pacer has claimed eight wickets in four matches so far, emerging as one of Pakistan’s leading performers with the ball in the tournament.
However, his pace-bowling partners Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah experienced contrasting fortunes, with both losing ground in the latest rankings. Rauf slipped nine places to 29th position, while Naseem dropped six spots to 53rd.
Meanwhile, Pakistan mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, who has yet to feature in the ongoing tri-series, dropped one position to third in the ODI bowling rankings.
Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan retained the top spot, continuing his dominance as the world’s highest-ranked bowler in both ODI and T20I cricket. South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj occupied second position, pushing Abrar down to third.
In the batting rankings, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam slipped two places to ninth following an underwhelming campaign in the ongoing ODI tri-series.
The right-handed batter has accumulated 118 runs in four matches, failing to produce a substantial innings despite getting opportunities at the crease.
Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha also dropped one position to 13th in the batting rankings. After beginning the tri-series with a century against Sri Lanka, Salman struggled to maintain his form, managing just 51 runs across his next three appearances.
Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who has been dropped from Pakistan’s ODI squad, suffered an eight-place decline to 42nd position.
Opening batter Fakhar Zaman also continued his downward slide, dropping two places to 46th following his recent struggles with the bat.
However, Shadab Khan emerged as one of Pakistan’s biggest gainers in the latest update. The all-rounder jumped 32 places to 92nd in the ODI batting rankings following his sensational match-winning century against England.
Shadab struck an unbeaten 113 off 96 deliveries to guide Pakistan to a remarkable one-wicket victory after the hosts had collapsed to 154-9 while chasing 242.
He shared an unbroken 89-run partnership for the final wicket with Haris Rauf to complete the dramatic run chase and secure Pakistan’s place in the tri-series final.
Shadab’s impressive performance also earned him a significant rise in the ICC ODI All-Rounder Rankings, where he climbed 17 positions to 50th.
In contrast, Salman Ali Agha and Shaheen Shah Afridi both slipped two places in the all-rounder standings. Salman dropped to 16th position, while Shaheen moved down to 19th.
