Pakistan’s former cricketer Basit Ali is unhappy with Babar Azam’s standing at the ICC men’s ODI batting rankings despite him being on top. Babar Azam stands at number one with 824 rating points.
Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, holds the top position in the ICC men’s ODI batting rankings. Babar Azam’s last ODI was against England in the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023. Beneath the Pakistani skipper, at number two, is Rohit Sharma, with 765 rating points, and Shubman Gill holds second position with 763 rating points. Virat Kohli secures third place with 746 rating points, and Ireland’s Harry Tector is at number five with 746 rating points.
“ICC Wants That Babar Doesn’t Perform”: Basit Ali
Basit Ali disapproves of ICC Rankings. The former Pakistani players question ICC to place Babar Azam at number one in ODI batting rankings. In addition, Basit Ali was disappointed that the likes of Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra were missing from the top positions on the list. The 53-year-old believes that ICC is hampering Babar Azam’s performance. Clearly, Basit Ali is disgusted with ICC and its ranking parameters. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali said,
“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 Shubman Gill there?”
Furthermore, Basit Ali pointed out that Babar Azam’s last ODI was in the ODI World Cup 2023. Keeping his query alive, the former cricketer mentioned Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head, and Virat Kohli’s performances in last year’s World Cup, who scored three to four centuries in the tournament.
In addition, he also noted the centuries scored by two Pakistani players, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman, one each in the ODI World Cup 2023. Skipper Babar Azam didn’t record any century in the World Cup last year. Pakistan skipper’s latest century was against Nepal in the Asia Cup. Basit Ali further added,
“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. Babar Azam did not score a single hundred. His last hundred came against Nepal in the Asia Cup. What kind of ranking do they give?”
Lastly, Basit Ali quoted ICC as Babar Azam’s enemy. The 53-year-old also mentioned to include Babar Azam’s opinion on his ranking. According to the former Pakistani cricketer, Babar Azam would also not agree with the rankings and consider Travis Head or Virat Kohli for his position. He said,
“The people at ICC are Babar Azam’s enemies. If you asked Babar who is the current number one, he would also pick Travis Head or Virat Kohli. Even he wouldn’t say that he is the number one.”