Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has dropped out of the top ten in the latest ICC Test batsmen rankings for the first time in five years.
This change comes after Babar Azam’s disappointing performance with the bat during the recently concluded two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home.
The right-handed batsman has come under scrutiny following his disappointing performances. The batsman scored just 64 runs in four innings against Bangladesh.
He has not scored a century since December 2022. Babar Azam last scored his half-century 16 innings ago in the longest international format.
Babar Azam drops out of top 10 in latest ICC Test batsmen rankings
Babar Azam has dropped to 12th in the ICC Test batting rankings. Azam, who was previously ranked ninth, has dropped out of the top 10.
Mohammad Rizwan is now Pakistan’s highest-ranked batsman. The wicket-keeper batsman remains at the tenth position after his 294 runs in the series.
Vice-captain Saud Shakeel dropped to 20th in the rankings, while opening batsman Abdullah Shafique dropped to 42nd.
Shaheen Afridi also fell out of the top ten in the bowling rankings. He is ranked 11th with 709 rating points. Currently, no Pakistani player is in the top 10.
Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Litton Das, who scored an impressive 138-run knock in the second Test, has moved up to 15th in the Test batting rankings.
All-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who was named Player of the Series, moved up to 75th in the batting rankings and 7th in the all-rounders list.
Joe Root closes in on career-best in Test batsman rankings
Joe Root has retained the top spot in the latest ICC Test batting rankings following his back-to-back centuries against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
He has a lead of 63 points over second-placed Kane Williamson. Root is closing in on his career-best score and remains the leading run-scorer in Test cricket this year.
Joe Root also surpassed former England captain Alastair Cook’s record for the most centuries by an England player.
Root has completed 34 hundreds for England in Test cricket. In 2024, Root has amassed 961 runs in 10 matches at an average of 60.06, including four hundreds and four half-centuries.
Gus Atkinson, who scored a century and took five wickets in the Lord’s Test, moved up to 20th in the all-rounder rankings and into the top 30 among bowlers.
Kamindu Mendis has moved up to 25th in the batsmen rankings, and Asitha Fernando has entered the top 10 in the bowlers rankings.
Rohit Sharma (6), Yashasvi Jaiswal (7) and Virat Kohli (8) are the three Indian players in the top 10 batsmen rankings.
They will have a chance to improve their standings during the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home, which is scheduled to begin on September 19 in Chennai.
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