Babar Azam attains career-best Test ranking, climbs to second spot
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has climbed to the second spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings for batters. Babar, who replaced Australia's Steven Smith, has attained his career-best Test ranking (batters). The former slammed twin fifties in the third and final Test against England in Karachi. Meanwhile, India's Cheteswhar Pujara, Shubman Gil, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav also move up in the Test rankings.
Babar closes in on Labuschagne
Babar, occupying his career-best second spot, closes in on top-placed Marnus Labuschagne in the ICC Test Batting Rankings. The former has 875 rating points compared to Labuchagne's 936. Babar is five points ahead of third-placed Smith, who recorded scores of 36 and 6 against South Africa in the Brisbane Test. Meanwhile, Babar scored 78 and 54 in the third Test against England.
1,000 Test runs for Babar in 2022
Babar has become the first-ever Pakistan skipper to have completed 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year. Inzamam-ul-Haq previously held the record for the most Test runs by a Pakistan skipper in a year. He scored 999 Test runs in 2005. Meanwhile, Babar has amassed 1,009 runs from eight Tests at an average of 67.26 this year so far.
Travis Head breaks into top five
Australian batter Travis Head has broken into the top five of the ICC Test Batting Rankings for the first time. He slammed a crucial 92 off 96 in the first innings of the Gabba Test, which turned out to be a low-scoring affair. His last scores in Test cricket read as 92, 0, 175, 38*, 99, and 152.
Harry Brook rewarded for his sublime run
England batter Harry Brook, the Player of the Series in Pakistan, has entered the top 50 (joint-44th) of the batting rankings. He finished as the leading run-scorer of the series, having amassed 468 runs at an incredible average of 93.60. The tally includes his first three Test tons. Brook is the first England batter with 450+ runs in a Test series in Pakistan.
What about Indian batters?
The Indian batters too rose in rankings after their 188-run win against Bangladesh in the Chattogram Test. Cheteshwar Pujara (90 and 102*) climbed to the 19th spot, while Shubman Gill (20 and 110) occupies the joint-54th spot. Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, who scored a crucial 86 in the first innings, climbed to number 26 in the batting rankings.
Pacer Kagiso Rabada climbs to third spot
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada jumped four places to third in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings. He registered a four-wicket haul in each innings of the Brisbane Test. India's Axar Patel (18th) is in the top 20 for the first time, while Kuldeep Yadav climbs 19 spots to number 49. Axar took five wickets (match) and Kuldeep registered a fifer (1st innings) against Bangladesh.
