Babar Azam suffers decline, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali move up in ICC Test Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan players, including star batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as well as spinner Noman Ali, made significant movements in the latest ICC Test Rankings released on Wednesday.

Pakistan suffered a 120-run defeat in the second Test of the two-match series against the West Indies earlier this week.

Noman Ali claimed bowling figures of 6-41, including a hat-trick, in the first session of the second Test to bundle West Indies for 163 in the first innings.

He took four more wickets in the second innings to complete his ten-wicket haul, which helped him jump four spots in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings to claim his career-best fifth place.

His spin partner Sajid Khan, who took six wickets in the match, also made a two-place jump to reach the 21st spot with 644 rating points.

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Meanwhile, Pakistan pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Naseem Shah, who did not participate in the Test series, dropped to 22nd, 27th and 40th spot respectively.

Babar Azam continued his ongoing struggles as he managed just one run off five deliveries in the first innings, and scored 31 runs off 67 balls in the second innings.

Overall, he scored 45 runs across four innings in the series, consequently losing three places to the 19th spot in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan jumped two places to 15th, courtesy of his fighting knock of 49 runs in the first innings, which was followed by a cautious 25 in the second innings.

Saud Shakeel, who managed 45 runs across two innings, dropped one spot and is now sitting in 10th place with 739 rating points.

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