Fakhar Zaman climbs, Shaheen Afridi slips in ICC ODI rankings

The latest ICC rankings update has brought significant shifts for Pakistan cricketers, with some making notable gains and others experiencing declines.

Opening batter Fakhar Zaman, despite being sidelined for months, climbed one spot to secure 17th place with 623 rating points.

Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub retained their 20th, 22nd, and 23rd positions, respectively. Salman Ali Agha moved up to 79th, while Abdullah Shafique, after a string of poor performances, dropped to 98th with 436 points.

Babar Azam remains the pinnacle of ODI batting as the world's number one, followed by India’s Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in second and third positions.

On the bowling side, Haris Rauf held steady at 18th with 585 points. Naseem Shah made progress, moving up to 50th and Mohammad Wasim Jr climbed two spots to 59th. Mohammad Nawaz stayed at 72nd.

However, Shaheen Afridi was dethroned from third place by Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana, dropping to fourth. Afghanistan's Rashid Khan and India’s Kuldeep Yadav occupy the top two positions.

In Test batting, Pakistan’s vice-captain slipped five places to 11th with 724 points, while Babar Azam climbed five spots to 12th.

Mohammad Rizwan also improved, advancing to 19th. Salman Ali Agha jumps to 22nd and Shan Masood surged 12 places to 45th with 550 points.

However, Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique fell to 49th and 53rd, respectively, while Kamran Ghulam and Saim Ayub dropped to 87th and 92nd.

For Test bowlers, Noman Ali and Shaheen Afridi slipped to 11th and 21st places, respectively.

Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah also saw minor declines, with Abrar Ahmed being a bright spot, climbing to 58th. Jasprit Bumrah retained the top spot, with Pat Cummins overtaking Josh Hazlewood for second and Kagiso Rabada holding third.

In T20I batting, Babar Azam moved up to sixth place, joining skipper Mohammad Rizwan in the top 10. Saim Ayub retained his 57th spot. Australia’s Travis Head leads the rankings, with England’s Phil Salt and India’s Tilak Varma following.

Among T20I bowlers, Shaheen Afridi improved to 21st, but Haris Rauf and Abbas Afridi fell to 29th and 44th, respectively.

West Indies' Akeal Hosein remains the top T20I bowler, with England's Adil Rashid and Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga trailing.