Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) and questioned the legitimacy of ODI Rankings, where star batter Babar Azam is the top-ranked batter.
Babar is leading the batting charts with 824 points, followed by the Indian trio of Rohit Sharma (765), Shubman Gill (763) and Virat Kohli (746).
However, Basit expressed stern concern over the rankings as he thinks the performing ODI batters like Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra are not among the top ten batters.
He posted a video on his YouTube channel sharing his suspicions about the ICC’s intentions to keep Babar on top to hinder his progress.
Furthermore, he raised concerns about the placement of Shubman Gill as the number three ODI batsman.
“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,” Basit said.
“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,” he added.
“Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there?” the former batter questioned.
Basit Ali highlighted the fact that Babar last played an ODI almost a year ago and his performances were not up to the mark in the ODI World Cup 2023.
“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,” he stated.
The former batter also mentioned that Babar’s last century was against Nepal in the Asia Cup before the World Cup, while Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan scored a hundred each for Pakistan in the mega-event.
“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?” he argued.
Basit Ali ended his video with a surprising statement, alleging that the individuals at ICC are working against Babar Azam.
“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,” he concluded.
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