Saud Shakeel makes massive jump in ICC Test batsmen rankings

Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, has lost rating points after International Cricket Council (ICC) updated its Test batsmen rankings on Wednesday.

Babar is at fifth position with 835 rating points, after a disappointing individual performance in the Galle Test, which Pakistan won against Sri Lanka.

Babar’s scores of 13 and 24 in the aforementioned Test, resulted in him losing 27 rating points.

Meanwhile, Saud Shakeel has made a massive jump in rankings and is now ranked 15^th with 691 points, courtesy of his 208-run unbeaten knock in Galle Test. Earlier today, Shakeel, brought up his seventh half-century on the third day of the ongoing second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Colombo. This feat has made Shakeel the first batter in Test history to score a fifty in each of the first seven Tests.

All-rounder Agha Salman shot up 17 places to 58th overall for batters, while young seamer Naseem Shah (up one place to 44th) and inexperienced spinner Abrar Ahmed (up 12 spots to equal 45th) found new highs on the list for Test bowlers after excellent performances with the ball against Sri Lanka.

New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson, is at the top spot with 883 points, followed by Marnus Labuchagne (869 points), who scored a fifty and a century in the fourth Ashes Test.

Joe Root (852 points)  and Travis Head (847 points) are on third and fourth spot, respectively.