Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has dropped one place to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The rankings reflect the performances of the players in the recently concluded World Test Championship and Ashes series.
Babar Azam, who scored 338 runs in six innings at an average of 56.33 in the World Test Championship, overtaken by Australia’s Steve Smith, who regained his second position after scoring a century in the first Ashes Test.
The top spot in the ICC Test batting rankings taken by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who moved up one place after scoring 251 runs in two innings against India. England’s Joe Root slipped four places to fifth after a poor Ashes outing, where he managed only 89 runs in four innings.
In the ICC Test bowling rankings, India’s Ravichandran Ashwin retained his first position with 860 points, followed by England’s James Anderson, who moved up two places to second with 850 points. Australia’s Pat Cummins and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada remained at third and fourth respectively, while Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi climbed one spot to fifth with 787 points.
In the ICC Test all-rounder rankings, India’s Ravindra Jadeja remained at the top with 434 points, followed by his teammate Ravichandran Ashwin with 352 points. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan was third with 339 points, while India’s Axar Patel and England’s Ben Stokes completed the top five.
The ICC Test rankings updated after every series and reflect the current form and performance of the players across all formats. The rankings also used to determine the qualification for the World Test Championship, which is a two-year cycle of Test matches between the top nine teams. The next edition of the World Test Championship will begin in July 2023 and end in June 2025