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Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi And Mohammad Rizwan Suffer Major Setbacks In ICC Rankings

Babar Azam drops in latest ICC rankings [Source: Source: @Johns/X.com]Babar Azam drops in latest ICC rankings [Source: Source: @Johns/X.com]

Senior Pakistan stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have seen massive declines in the latest ICC rankings for batters in Tests. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi also dropped out of ICC’s top 10 rankings after he was dropped from the playing XI for the Multan Test against England.

Pakistan stars drop out of top 10 in ICC rankings

As per the latest ICC Test batting charts, senior Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan lost 12 rungs to slip out of the top 10 rankings. Previously ranked number seven on the list, Rizwan now finds himself placed at number 19 with 678 rating points.

His teammate and former Pakistan captain Babar Azam also slipped from number 12 to number 15 amidst his continuous struggles with the bat. Babar has not recorded a single fifty-plus score in Tests since notching up a match-saving 161 against New Zealand in Karachi back in December 2022. The modern-day batting legend has since gone past 18 Test innings for Pakistan without cracking a single half-century.

Senior fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who for long stood as Pakistan’s lone bowler in the top 10 ICC Test rankings, also crashed out of the list after his dismal run off late against Australia, Bangladesh and England. Moreover, Shaheen was even dropped from Pakistan’s playing XI, alongside Babar Azam, for the second Test of the three-match home series against the visiting England team.

The Pakistani paceman is currently ranked 14th on the latest ICC rankings for bowlers in Tests. As of now, Shaheen is Pakistan’s lone representative in the entire top 20, with the likes of Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah finding themselves next best on the list at number 34 and 36 respectively.

It remains to be seen when the Pakistan team management will recall Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi back into the playing XI. Mohammad Rizwan, on the other hand, once again failed to make full use of his opportunity as the wicketkeeper-batter was dismissed for just 41 in the first innings of the second Test against England.