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DUBAI: Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali has broken into the top five of the latest ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings.
The updated rankings, released on Wednesday following South Africa’s memorable win over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–25 final at Lord’s, saw major shifts across both batting and bowling charts.
On the batting front, Saud Shakeel continues to impress. The left-hander moved up one place to seventh, now sitting at 739 rating points.
However, Mohammad Rizwan dropped to 16th with 671 points, while Babar Azam stayed put at 21st, holding 651 points.
Other notable Pakistani batters include Salman Ali Agha at 31st (592 points), Shan Masood at 45th (542), Abdullah Shafique at 51st, Kamran Ghulam at 81st, and Saim Ayub at 88th.
England’s Joe Root continues to lead the Test batting rankings, followed by compatriot Harry Brook and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
Aiden Markram, Player of the Match in the WTC final, surged seven places to 11th, narrowly missing out on the top 10. South Africa’s David Bedingham leapt 17 spots to sit at 40th, alongside Australia’s Cameron Green.
Meanwhile, Noman Ali, who’s been a consistent performer for Pakistan in Test cricket, climbed to fourth spot with 806 points, capitalising on dips from Australian duo Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, both of whom slipped one place each.
Moreover, Sajid Khan and Shaheen Afridi retained their 21st and 23rd positions, respectively, with Mohammad Abbas holding steady at 29th.
Further down, Abrar Ahmed (52nd), Khurram Shahzad (64th), Aamer Jamal (72nd), Mir Hamza (93rd), Salman Ali Agha (95th), and Zahid Mahmood (97th) round off Pakistan’s representation.
Jasprit Bumrah of India remains the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, ahead of South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins.
Lungi Ngidi, who turned the WTC final on its head with a fiery second-innings spell, jumped seven spots to 37th, now sharing the position with Naseem Shah and Lahiru Kumara.
Mitchell Starc, with a five-wicket haul and a half-century in the final, climbed into the top 10 of both the bowling and all-rounder rankings.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Beau Webster, their top-scorer in the first innings at Lord’s, gained 13 places on the batting chart.
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