Mohammad Rizwan progresses in ICC ranking despite NZ series loss

Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan has made gains in the ICC ODI rankings despite the side’s dismal outing in the white-ball tour of New Zealand.

The wicketkeeping batter, who scored just 72 runs in the three-match ODI series, moved up two places to 21st in the batting rankings with 606 points.

India’s Shubman Gill tops the ranking, followed by former Pakistan captain Babar Azam at No. 2, while India’s Rohit Sharma occupies the third spot.

Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman, who missed the New Zealand tour, dropped two spots to 23rd, while Imam-ul-Haq held on to his 34th position.

Saim Ayub dropped two places to 38th, while vice-captain Salman Ali Agha gained one place and now sits at 40th.

It is worth noting here that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were excluded from Pakistan’s T20I squad for the New Zealand tour.

The wicketkeeping batter was replaced by Salman Agha as the captain of the T20I side after the Pakistan cricket team crashed out of the Champions Trophy 2025 in the group stage.

Read more: Rizwan’s struggle against O’Rourke comes under spotlight

While Mohammad Rizwan has made minor gains in the ICC ranking, his batting performance in the New Zealand ODI series was criticised by fans and former cricketers.

The Pakistan captain managed to score 30 off 34 balls in the first game in Napier, followed by five runs off 27 balls before falling to New Zealand’s Ben Sears.

In the third and final game, Rizwan made 37 off 32 balls.