Babar Azam achieves career-best ranking in Tests
Cricket
Babar Azam achieves career-best ranking in Tests
DUBAI (Web Desk) – Babar Azam has established himself as one of the leading batsmen in international cricket in recent years, and his performances in Test cricket have been particularly impressive. He has been a key player for Pakistan in the longest format of the game, scoring runs consistently and leading the team’s batting attack.
— ICC (@ICC) December 21, 2022
His rise to the second rank in the ICC Test batting rankings is a testament to his consistent performances and his ability to adapt to different conditions and opposition. It is a great achievement for him, and he will be looking to continue his good form in the future to maintain his place among the top batsmen in the world.
The right-handed batter swapped places with Australia’s veteran Steve Smith, while the latter’s countrymate Marnus Labuschagne continued to rule the batting chart with a delightful home series against West Indies.
Babar, however, moved closer to Labuschagne in the latest rankings as he had achieved 875 rating points, 61 short of Labuschagne’s.
Meanwhile, the English batters, who dominated hosts Pakistan in the recently-concluded three-match Test series were rewarded for their fantastic efforts.
Player of the Series Harry Brook jumped 11 places to join West Indies’ Jermaine Blackwood at the 44th position.
Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes jumped two places to secure 23rd position, while Ollie Pope captured 28th.
Pakistan endured their first-ever clean sweep at home by Ben Stokes-led England after the touring side sealed a comprehensive eight-wicket victory early on Day 4 in the final Test.
It would have been a disappointing result for Pakistan and their fans, as they were unable to secure a single victory in the Test series against England. It is not often that a team is whitewashed in their own country, so this would have been a particularly tough result to take. However, it is important for the team to learn from their mistakes and use this experience as motivation to improve and perform better in future Test series. It will be interesting to see how Pakistan responds to this result and how they work to bounce back in the future.
