Babar Azam, Rizwan suffer decline, Salman Ali Agha moves up in ICC Test Rankings

DUBAI: Pakistan all-rounder Salman Ali Agha enjoyed significant gains, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan experienced a further drop in their positions in the latest ICC Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday.

Babar Azam dropped four places to 19th with 677 points after missing the second Test against England. He was dropped from the squad after the first Test owing to his extended poor run of form.

He managed a meagre 64 runs in four innings during the home Test series against Bangladesh last month, while in the first Test against England, he scored only 35 runs

On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan lost two spots to 21 with 669 rating points following his below-par performance in the two Tests against England where he managed only 74 runs.

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Salman Ali Agha, who has been enjoying a purple patch lately, earned the rewards for his impressive batting performance as he jumped eight places to claim the 14th spot in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

He has scored 261 runs in the ongoing series so far with an unbeaten century and two half-centuries with an average of 87.

Pakistan’s Test vice-captain Saud Shakeel also suffered a steep decline, falling seven places to 27th position with 642 points after scoring a meagre 146 runs in two Tests against England.

Notably, spin bowlers Sajid Khan and Noman Ali made a remarkable return to the Pakistan team in the second Test against England. They shared 20 wickets to steer the team to their first victory on home soil in the last three years.

Consequently, Sajid Khan jumped a whopping 22 places to the 50th spot, while Noman Ali was re-instated at the 17th position in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings.

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