Babar in top-three across all formats

LAHORE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam and opener Abdullah Shafique have been rewarded with career-high Test rankings following last week’s superlative performances in the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka.

Pakistan achieved their second highest run-chase when they scored 344 for six with Babar contributing 119 and 55, while Abdullah a magnificent 160 not out in the second innings.

Babar has moved up one place to third in the latest ICC Men’s Player Rankings for Test Batters and is now the only player in international cricket to feature in the top-three across all formats, while Abdullah has vaulted 23 places to break into the top-20 for the first time in 16th position.

Babar already heads the ODI and T20I batting charts, while in Tests, he now trails second-ranked Marnus Labuschagne of Australia by 11 points. The list is headed by England’s Joe Root.

Abdullah by virtue of his 23-place leap, has now become the third Pakistan batter to feature inside the top-20. Apart from Babar, Mohammad Rizwan is occupying 20th position.

Amongst the bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi has gained one place in the latest rankings.