MIRPUR: Pakistan players have slipped in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings following a disappointing finish to the opening Test against Bangladesh, which they lost by 104 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
In the Test batting rankings, middle-order batter Saud Shakeel has fallen six places from ninth to 15th with 689 points, while wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has retained his 21st position.
Babar Azam, who was not part of Pakistan’s playing XI for the first Bangladesh Test, has also slipped one place to 23rd. Salman Ali Agha has likewise dropped two places to 29th. Test captain Shan Masood, who endured a poor outing in the recent match, has fallen six places from 40th to 46th with 548 points.
Left-handed batter Imam-ul-Haq has dropped four places to 53rd, while opener Abdullah Shafique, who is not part of Pakistan’s Test squad, has moved up one place to 54th. Debutant Abdullah Fazal, who marked his international start with twin fifties in the said Test, retains his 75th position with 422 points, followed by centurion Azan Awais at 82nd.
England duo Joe Root and Harry Brook continue to dominate the top two spots, with Root first and Brook second, while Australia’s Travis Head remains third. In the Test bowling rankings, spinner Noman Ali has slipped out of the top three to fifth place after dropping three positions from second with825 points.
Pace duo Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas retain their 24th and 28th positions respectively, while Hasan Ali moves up one place to 40th with 497 points. Spinner Asif Afridi has dropped three places to 82nd, while Agha Salman falls four places to 91st with 189 points. India’s Jasprit Bumrah remains the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, with Australia’s Mitchell Starc second and New Zealand’s Matt Henry third.
