Pakistan players move up in ICC rankings after West Indies win

DUBAI: Pakistan’s cricketers' ICC T20I rankings surged after a strong showing in their recent three-match series against the West Indies.

Middle-order batter Hassan Nawaz climbed 24 spots to reach 30th place with 569 rating points, following a consistent run that saw him score 79 runs across the series.

Top-order batter Saim Ayub, who led the series with 130 runs including two half-centuries, jumped 25 places to claim the 37th position, earning 559 points.

Fellow opener Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 91 runs in the series, surged 34 spots to claim the 63rd spot with 484 rating points.

Captain Salman Ali Agha and experienced batter Fakhar Zaman also saw improvements in their rankings, moving up 15 and three places to 76th and 78th positions, respectively.

However, seasoned players Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who have been inactive in T20Is since 2024, experienced a drop in rankings. Babar now sits at 17th, and Rizwan at 19th, both slipping three places.

Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris, who struggled during the Caribbean tour, dropped 21 places to 86th with 413 points.

India's Abhishek Sharma retained the top position among T20I batters, followed by Australia's Travis Head and India’s Tilak Varma in second and third, respectively.

In the bowling rankings, no Pakistani bowler features in the top 20. Fast bowler Haris Rauf maintained his 26th position with 575 points, while young pacer Abbas Afridi dropped three spots to 27th.

Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem made a stunning jump of 69 places to reach 34th with 542 points. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi slipped one position to 36th, and Mohammad Nawaz climbed 51 places to 56th with 489 points.

Abrar Ahmed dropped nine spots to 60th, and T20I vice-captain Shadab Khan fell five places to 72nd.

New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy continued to top the bowling rankings, followed by England’s Adil Rashid, while West Indies’ Akeal Hosein moved up to third, replacing India’s Varun Chakaravarthy.

In the all-rounders category, Shadab Khan dropped two spots to 19th. Rising star Saim Ayub made a massive leap, climbing 70 places to 24th with 119 rating points.

Mohammad Nawaz jumped 13 places to 36th, while Abbas Afridi dropped four places to 56th. Iftikhar Ahmed fell six places to 70th, and Faheem Ashraf moved up five spots to 77th with 58 points.

India’s Hardik Pandya remains the number one T20I all-rounder, followed by Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi in second and third, respectively.