Agha Salman tops Pakistani batters in new ICC test rankings

WEB DESK: Following Pakistan’s victory against England in the second test, new International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for test batters and bowlers were revealed on Wednesday.

BATTING RANKINGS

Joe Root remains at the top of men’s test batters, after his incredible performance in the first test against Pakistan which saw him become the lead scorer for England in tests. He is followed closely by Harry Brook who is ranked third. Brook scored a triple century in the first test against Pakistan, helping England to make the fourth highest innings score in tests ever.

In between them is Australia’s Kane Williamson, still sitting at second after losing the first-place position earlier this year. England’s Ben Duckett gained three places, reaching a career best just outside of the top ten, at 11.

Agha Salman gained eight places, sitting comfortably at a career best 14, which is currently the highest rank out of all Pakistani batters in tests. Babar Azam, who was dropped from the team for the second and third tests against England, is the next highest at 19th, tied with India’s Shubman Gill. Azam achieved his career best ranking in December of 2022, when he was ranked second.

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Right below him is Mohammad Rizwan, who dropped one place to 21st. He has been dropping places in the ranking since reaching his career best of 10th. The only other Pakistani batter in the top 30 is Saud Shakeel, who dropped seven places to reach his current ranking of 27th. His career best is 14th.

BOWLING RANKINGS

After taking 11 wickets against England in the second test, Noman Ali gained 25 ranks, regaining his career best ranking of 17th.  Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was dropped for the second test against England, is ranked 14th. He achieved a career best rank of third for the first time in Demceber of 2021.

Gus Atkinson, who is returning for the third test against Pakistan, is currently 24th on the list. He dropeed one place, from his career best ranking of 23rd.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah claims the top spot, while Ravichandran Ashwin follows at second. Australia’s Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins take the third and fourth spot respectively. Right beneath Cummins, tied for fourth, sits Kagiso Rabada, who recently reached the milestone of 300 wickets in record time.

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