ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam jumped three spots to claim the number three spot in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings on Wednesday, become the only batter in the world to rank in all three formats— Test, ODIs and T20, to rank among the top three batters in the world.
Azam is recognized as one of the world’s best batters in modern-day cricket. The Pakistani batter currently occupies the number one spot in the ODI batter’s ranking and the number three spot in the T20 batter’s ranking.
According to the latest MRF ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings, Azam climbed to number three from the sixth spot with 862 points. Australian batter is ranked at number two in Test batter rankings with 874 points while New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson sits pretty at the top with 883 points.
“Head’s rise up the batter charts has seen yet another re-shuffle at the top of the batting rankings, with Pakistan captain Babar Azam jumping three places to third and fellow Australians Steve Smith (fourth) and Marnus Labuschagne (fifth) and England’s Joe Root (sixth) all dropping one spot in what is an enthralling race for top billing,” the ICC said on its website.
Azam has an opportunity to close in on the top spot by scoring impressively in the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan, who are already in the island-country, take on Sri Lanka for the first Test match on July 16 at the Galle International Stadium.
