Srinagar: As expected the failure in first Test vs Bangladesh has costed Pakistan star batter Babar Azam majorly in the ICC Test rankings while as teamate Mohammad Rizwan has made major gains owing to stellar performance.
Babar Azam has dropped six places, falling from third to ninth while as Mohammad Rizwan has climbed seven spots, achieving a new career-high by breaking into the top 10 at joint 10th after scoring a century in the same match.
This leaves Babar just six rating points ahead of Rizwan in the updated rankings for Test batters, with Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel not far behind after moving up one place to 13th overall, thanks to his own century against Bangladesh.
On the other hand, Harry Brook has now secured the fourth spot, while his teammate Joe Root maintains his position as the No.1 ranked Test batter.
Bangladesh’s right-hander Mushfiqur Rahim has reached a career-high rating, climbing seven spots to 17th, while Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal (up four places to 23rd) and Kamindu Mendis (up eight rungs to 36th), along with England’s newcomer Jamie Smith (up 22 to 42nd), also made gains in the Test batter rankings.
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remains at the top of the rankings for Test bowlers, though fellow spinner Prabath Jayasuriya has moved up one place to ninth for Sri Lanka following his five-wicket haul in Manchester against England.
England seamer Chris Woakes (up four rungs to 16th) and Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando (up 10 spots to 17th) have also gained ground, while Pakistan right-armer Naseem Shah (up four spots to 33rd) and England’s Gus Atkinson (up four places to 42nd) achieved new career-best ratings after impressive recent performances.
Woakes has also improved by one place to move up to eighth on the list for Test all-rounders, with India’s spinner Ravindra Jadeja leading that category.