“Who gives these rankings?”: Former Pakistan star criticises ICC, questions Babar Azam’s place at the top

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali took a dig at the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the star batsman. Babar Azam retained his position at the top of the ODI rankings. Despite not playing any ODIs from November 2023, Babar retained his position at the top, followed by three Indian stars – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill And Virat KohliSharing his views on the latest ICC rankings, Basit suggested that the ICC does not want Babar to perform well and hence he has been placed at the top.

Basit also questioned the logic behind the ranking system and highlighted the absence of star batsmen in it. Travis Head (Australia) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand).

“When I saw the ICC rankings (ODI batsmen), Babar Azam was at the top, Rohit Sharma at number two, Shubman Gill at number three and Virat Kohli at number four. I did not find it necessary to read the rest of the names as I could not see Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra. I think the ICC wants Babar not to perform well. He will be happy to be the number one batsman in ODIs. Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

He said, “Babar played his last ODI in the World Cup last year. We have seen players like Rachin Ravindra playing.” quinton de kockTravis Head and Virat Kohli scored three centuries each in the World Cup. Mohammad Rizwan and fakhar zaman “Both of them scored a century each. What kind of ranking do they give,” he said.

Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has made a big jump in the rankings and reached the second spot after his stellar performance with the bat in the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.

In a series that saw many batsmen fail to stick around, Rohit finished as the top scorer with 157 runs including two half-centuries at an average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44.

(With ANI inputs)