Babar Azam loses No. 1 T20I ranking after low scores against Bangladesh and West Indies
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has lost his number one spot in the ICC T20I Rankings for Batters. The right-handed batter has slipped to number three after failing to perform well in the series against Bangladesh and West Indies.
Babar Azam was the leading run-scorer in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. His purple patch helped him cement the top spot in the ICC T20I Rankings for Batters. However, in the series against Bangladesh played after the T20 World Cup, Babar managed only one double-digit score in three innings.
Pakistan and West Indies are currently playing a T20I series, where Babar Azam has scored seven runs in two innings. Courtesy of his low scores, Dawid Malan and Aiden Markram have overtaken the Pakistan captain in the ICC T20I Rankings.
Babar Azam's last 5 T20I scores:
7 v WI
0 v WI
19 v BAN
1 v BAN
7 v BAN
Total - 34 runs
Previously Babar had at least one 40+ score across any 5 consecutive T20I innings of career.
Now his combined 5 innings total is under 40.
#PAKvWI
Although Babar Azam's performances have not been up to the mark, Pakistan have won all five T20Is. They whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 and have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series against West Indies.
Babar Azam is not the only Fab 5 club member to drop in ICC Rankings this week
While Babar Azam has slipped to third in the ICC T20I Rankings for Batters, Australia's Steve Smith dropped to number three in the ICC Test Rankings for Batters. New Zealand's Kane Williamson fell to fourth place as well, while Virat Kohli retained his sixth spot.
Marnus Labuschagne, meanwhile, has climbed to second position in the latest ICC Test Rankings. His teammate David Warner jointly holds sixth spot with Indian captain Virat Kohli, while Rohit Sharma holds on to fifth position.
Australia’s batters and Pakistan’s pacers make significant gains in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings 📈
Details 👉 bit.ly/Rankings-15Dec https://t.co/SeCzbldK5g
In the bowling charts, Shaheen Shah Afridi has overtaken Josh Hazelwood and Tim Southee to join Pat Cummins and Ravichandran Ashwin in the top 3 of the ICC Test Rankings.