Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali expressed how he is unsatisfied with the latest ICC ODI rankings, particularly rising question for the top ranking of Babar Azam even taking in consideration the absence of Babar from ODI cricket since November 2023.
Basit said that by keeping Babar at the top spot, the ICC might be knowingly preventing Babar from performing. He further raised some concern covering the overall logic of their ranking system, pointing out the absence of prominent batters like Travis Head (AUS) and Rachin Ravindra (NZ) from the top positions.
“When I saw the ICC ranking (ODI batters), Babar Azam was at the top, number two was Rohit Sharma, number three was Shubman Gill, and then there was Virat Kohli at number four. I did not find it necessary to read the remaining names because I couldn’t see Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra. I think the ICC wants that Babar doesn’t perform. He would be happy with being the number one-ranked batter in ODIs. Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubhman Gill there,” Basit said.
“Babar’s last ODI was at the last year’s World Cup. We saw the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head and Virat Kohli at the World Cup. They scored three-four hundreds in the tournament. For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman scored a century each. What kind of ranking do they give,” he further added.
