Babar Azam loses top spot in latest ICC rankings

Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam slipped to 2nd after losing the top spot to India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill in the latest ICC Men’s Player Rankings.

India right-hander Shubman Gill claimed the top ranked ODI batter in the world after dethroning Babar Azam while Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana climbs atop the Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings – taking the premier position for the first time by surpassing Afghanistan tweaker Rashid Khan.

It’s a major shake-up at the top of the rankings at the start of the Champions Trophy and leaves an interesting sub-plot to what will transpire over the coming weeks during the eight-team tournament in Pakistan and Dubai.

This is the second time Gill has held the No.1 ranking in ODI cricket, with the India batter having also gone past Babar to claim top spot midway through the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023.

Babar drops to second place and 23 rating points behind the new No.1, while India skipper Rohit Sharma remains in the third spot and 45 rating points behind his fellow Indian opener.

New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell (up two places to fifth) and Sri Lanka dasher Charith Asalanka (up eight spots to eighth) also make ground inside the top 10, while Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan climbs six places to 15th with a new career-high rating.

It’s worth mentioning here that several former cricketers criticised the team management’s move to promote the former Pakistan captain to the top position for the recently concluded tri-nation series and the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.

The scrutiny intensified after Babar Azam returned with dismal batting numbers in the three games of the tri-series.

The right-handed batter could manage meagre scores of 10, 23 and 29 in three innings of the ongoing tri-nation series.

Amid the criticism, Pakistan head coach Aqib Javed showed confidence in the star batter, saying that he was due for a big inning in the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.

“Babar has gotten good starts, but he needs to go deeper. He has an important innings due and I expect him to score in an important match for us,” said Javed after the tri-series final a day earlier.