Babar Azam drops down six places to ninth in latest ICC rankings; Rohit, Kohli, and Jaiswal remain in the top 10
Pakistan ace batter Babar Azam's dismal form has been reflected in the latest update of the ICC Test rankings for batters. He has dropped down six places to find himself ranked ninth with 734 points.
Babar had a forgettable set of outings in Pakistan's first Test of the home season. The former red-ball skipper was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the first innings by Shoriful Islam, while he departed for 22 runs in the second innings where Pakistan collapsed to get bundled out for 146. The Men in Green eventually lost the contest by 10 wickets in Rawalpindi.
While Babar faces a drastic drop, Mohammad Rizwan has been rewarded on the ranking charts for his exceptional batting display during the Test. The wicketkeeper-batter scored an unbeaten 171 and 50 in the first and second innings of the contest, respectively, which propels him seven spots up to the 10th rank.
Newly appointed Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel has also jumped one rank to 13th after his century in the first innings.
Player of the innings from the series opener, Mushfiqur Rahim, climbs seven spots to 17th for his match-winning 191 in the first innings against Pakistan.
Harry Brook rises to fourth in ICC rankings for Test batters
The performers from the first Test between England and Sri Lanka in Old Trafford have also shuffled around in the list based on their performances. Joe Root still maintains a healthy lead as the No.1 ranked Test batter on the back of his fifty in the fourth innings under nervy circumstances.
Harry Brook, who chipped in with 56 and 32 across both innings, propels to the No.4 spot, displacing Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith in the process.
Kamindu Mendis' heroics in the second innings for Sri Lanka, where he scored 113 runs to give the visitors some hope, has translated to his rise in the rankings by eight spots to the 36th place.
As far as Indian batters are concerned - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Yashasvi Jaiswal hold the sixth, seventh, and eighth spots in the ICC rankings ahead of the home season.