Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen drop in latest ICC T20I rankings
Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi failed to impress during the recently-concluded Australia T20Is. Photo: AFP/File
Pakistan's star players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi have experienced a significant drop in the latest ICC T20I rankings following Pakistan's disappointing 3-0 series loss to Australia.
In the T20I batter rankings, Babar Azam slipped one place, moving from 4th to 5th with 742 rating points. His opening partner, Mohammad Rizwan, also dropped one position, now standing 6th with 719 rating points. With this decline, no Pakistani batter is currently in the top 50 of the T20I rankings.
On the other hand, India's Tilak Varma saw a remarkable rise, climbing 69 places to secure the 3rd spot overall, just behind Australia's top-ranked batter Travis Head who is at the top spot. This also placed him as the highest-rated Indian batter, surpassing Suryakumar Yadav, who dropped to 4th.
Several other players made notable gains, including India's Sanju Samson, who moved up 17 spots to 22nd after impressive performances, including two centuries in the series against South Africa. South Africa's Tristan Stubbs also saw an improvement, climbing to 23rd, while his teammate Heinrich Klaasen rose six places to a joint 59th.
Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis gained three places, now ranked 12th, while West Indies' Shai Hope jumped 16 spots to 21st. Australia's Marcus Stoinis also made a notable move, climbing 10 spots to 45th after his recent half-century against Pakistan.
In the T20I bowler rankings, Australia's Adam Zampa and Nathan Ellis were among the biggest movers, while India's Arshdeep Singh gained three places to reach 9th with a new career-high rating following his performances against South Africa.
Haris Rauf, who was Pakistan's standout performer in the recent T20I series, saw a significant rise in the bowling rankings, moving up four spots from 24th to 20th with 601 rating points. However, left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi suffered a considerable decline, dropping 10 places from 14th to 24th with 585 rating points.
In other news, all-rounder Imad Wasim, who has not played any T20I matches since the 2024 T20 World Cup, dropped seven places to 35th.
Meanwhile, in the Test batting rankings, Saud Shakeel experienced a minor setback, dropping two places to 9th with 724 rating points. However, there was positive movement for Babar Azam, who climbed to 17th, with Salman Ali Agha moving to 19th and Rizwan to 20th.