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Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has expressed his dissatisfaction with the latest ICC ODI rankings, particularly questioning the continued top ranking of Babar Azam despite the Pakistani batter's absence from ODI cricket since November 2023. He has highlighted the presence of three Indian players – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli – directly below Babar in the rankings.
Basit Ali criticizes ICC Rankings
Basit suggested that the ICC might be intentionally preventing Babar from performing by keeping him at the top spot. He further raised concerns about the overall logic of the ranking system, pointing out the absence of prominent batters like Travis Head (Australia) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand) from the top positions.
"When I saw the ICC ranking (ODI batters), Babar Azam was at the top, number two was Rohit Sharma, number three was Shubman Gill, and then there was Virat Kohli at number four. I did not find it necessary to read the remaining names because I couldn't see Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra. I think the ICC wants that Babar doesn't perform. He would be happy with being the number one-ranked batter in ODIs. Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there," Basit said on his YouTube channel.
"Babar's last ODI was at the last year's World Cup. We saw the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head and Virat Kohli at the World Cup. They scored three-four hundreds in the tournament. For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman scored a century each. What kind of ranking do they give," he further added.
Basit Ali raised concerns about the rankings of Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli alongside Babar Azam. He argued that their recent performances have not been as consistent as Rohit Sharma's. Notably, Rohit's stellar performance in the ODI series against Sri Lanka propelled him to the second spot in the ICC rankings. While most batters struggled to find their rhythm, Rohit excelled, amassing 157 runs at an impressive average of 52.33 and a strike rate of 141.44, including two half-centuries.
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The former cricketer expressed surprise at the absence of Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra from the top positions, given their outstanding contributions to their respective teams.
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