Pakistan players enhanced their positions in ICC Men’s ODI Batting rankings after the latest 4-1 series triumph over New Zealand on home soil.
Pakistan’s batting trio, Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman and the skipper Babar Azam strengthend their place in the ODI rankings as the trio now hold three of the top four positions.
Fakhar scored back-to-back centuries in the first two ODIs of the five-match series which helped him climb to the number three ranking with a 755 rating. He was also named ICC Player of the Month for April 2023.
Imam scored two fifties in the three matches he played, including a 90-run inning in the third ODI which helped him bag the Player of the Match award. He now currently stands at number four ranking with a 745 rating.
Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam strengthend his number one position in the ODI batting ranking with an 886 rating as he scored a record-breaking century in the fourth ODI, which made him the fastest player to score 5,000 ODI runs in history.
Azam reached the feat in 97 innings, beating South Africa’s Hashim Amla who did in 101 innings.
Just like the batters, Pakistan’s bowlers also managed to improve their rankings in the ICC ODI bowlers ranking.
Haris Rauf finished as the leading wicket-taker for the series with nine wickets and climbed to 42nd rank on the ODI bowler rankings as a result.
Mohammad Wasim moved from outside the top 100 to 69th overall after his six wickets from three games.
Pakistan’s primary pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi also improved his ranking in the list for ODI all-rounders as he claimed eight wickets during the series and his short but entertaining cameo of 23* in the fourth ODI helped him rise to 36th rank in the list of all-rounders.