Pakistan stars climb in new ICC Test rankings; Noman Ali soars to second best

LAHORE: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has released its latest men’s player rankings, with several Pakistani cricketers making notable gains following recent performances.

Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali has been the biggest mover in the Test bowling rankings, jumping four places to second, just 29 rating points behind India’s Jasprit Bumrah, who retains the number one spot among Test bowlers.

Among other Pakistani players, Shaheen Shah Afridi rose three places to 19th in the Test bowling rankings, while Mohammad Rizwan climbed four spots to 16th in the Test batting charts. Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam also made gains, moving up two places to 22nd among Test batsmen.

In the overall Test rankings, England’s Joe Root remains the number one batsman, while Bumrah continues to dominate the bowling rankings.

In One Day Internationals (ODIs), India’s Shubman Gill has retained the top position among batsmen, while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan continues to reign as the number one ODI bowler.

In the T20 format, India’s Abhishek Sharma has emerged as the top-ranked batsman, with fellow Indian Varun Chakraborty leading the T20 bowling rankings.

The new ICC rankings show that players from across the subcontinent, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, have dominated all three formats.