ICC ODI rankings: Babar Azam breaks into top 10
Babar Azam smashed 100 runs in Adelaide for a total of 282 runs in the series.
DUBAI (Dunya News) - Babar Azam has moved to his career-best 10th position in new ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen after wonderful display with bat against Australia in recent series.
Babar Azam, who smashed 100 runs against Australia in Adelaide for a total of 282 runs in the series, has broken into the top-10 for the first time as he has gained five positions to reach 10th rank.
His team-mate Sharjeel Khan’s 250 runs in the series, which included three half-centuries, have lifted him 35 slots to a career-best 53rd rank.
Mohammad Hafeez also managed to grab fifth position ICC ODI All-rounders Rankings after making comeback.
No Pakistani bowler managed to enter top 10.
Australia opener David Warner has grabbed the top spot in the Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen with a stupendous run in recent matches that is a warning for other teams in the year of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, which will be held in the United Kingdom from 1-18 June.
The attacking left-hander has attained the top ranking for the first time, leapfrogging South Africa’s AB de Villiers and India captain Virat Kohli after amassing 367 runs in the five-match home series against Pakistan which his side won 4-1.
Warner, who struck a belligerent 179 off 128 balls to help win the final ODI in Adelaide by 57 runs on Thursday, is aiming to continue with the superb form that has seen him score six centuries in the last 11 ODIs.
In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Australia pace bowler Mitchell Starc has gained two slots to reach second position after finishing with nine wickets in the series against Pakistan, which included a haul of four for 42 in Adelaide. The former top-ranked bowler is now only five points behind New Zealand’s Trent Boult.
PAKISTAN IN TROUBLE
Pakistan could not improve its points’ position in a bid to qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, even as there was little movement in the team rankings.
Pakistan is in danger of failing to qualify directly for the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over tournament in the United Kingdom as it is sitting in eighth position on 89 points – two behind Bangladesh and two ahead of the West Indies.
Host England and the seven highest-ranked sides on theMRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings as on 30 September 2017 will qualify directly for the event proper to be held from 30 May to 15 July 2019.
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