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Babar Azam demoted; Saim Ayub, Salman Agha make rapid strides in ICC ODI rankings

Debashis Sarangi

Babar Azam and Saim Ayub [Source: AFP]Babar Azam and Saim Ayub [Source: AFP]

In a significant development, the International Cricket Council (ICC) updated the men's player rankings on Wednesday. While India's Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill retained the first and fourth positions, respectively, Babar Azam witnessed a demotion on the batters' list. 

Babar goes down; Saim, Agha move up in ICC rankings

Babar Azam hasn't had a great time with the bat in ODI cricket of late. The talismanic cricketer managed only 45 runs in the three-match series against South Africa before falling for a slow-paced 29 in the first ODI against Sri Lanka. 

Babar's string of ordinary outings hampered his progress in the ICC rankings, as the Pakistan batter moved two spots down to the seventh spot with 709 rating points. 

On the contrary, Saim Ayub and Agha Salman, who performed admirably in the South Africa home series, finished this week as two of the biggest movers on the batters' chart. Ayub, who slammed 169 runs in three innings, jumped 18 positions to 35th, while Salman made a progress of 14 slots to the 16th following his scintillating ton in the first ODI against Sri Lanka.  

Other notable changes in ICC rankings

Talismanic Indian cricketer Virat Kohli improved his ranking by one place, claiming the 5th position with 725 points. Meanwhile, Abrar Ahmed, who bagged seven wickets, including a game-changing four-fer, against South Africa, moved 18 places up to the 20th on the bowlers' rankings. 

Haris Rauf, following his four-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, moved three spots up to the 28th. Meanwhile, Wanindu Hasaranga, besides consolidating the 10th position in the ODI allrounders' rankings, jumped 14 places to the 116th on the batters' list. 

English speedster Jofra Archer has dethroned Keshav Maharaj, claiming the second position in the ODI bowlers' standings, topped by Rashid Khan, who has 710 rating points.