Saud Shakeel climbed to sixth in the ICC Test rankings following strong performances, while Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi dropped due to a slump in form.
Southpaw batter rising three places to sixth with 764 rating points following his impressive 84-run knock in the first Test against South Africa. However, not all news was positive for Pakistan’s cricketers.
Captain Babar Azam, despite a half-century in the same Test, dropped two spots to 17th with 669 points. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha also experienced declines, slipping to 21st and 23rd, respectively.
Out-of-form opener Abdullah Shafique fell to 51st, while Shan Masood maintained his 57th position.
In the bowling rankings, Pakistan’s Noman Ali dropped to ninth, while Shaheen Afridi fell to 18th.
Mohammad Abbas, who returned with six wickets against South Africa, secured 23rd place, while Naseem Shah surged six places to 33rd.
Meanwhile, India’s star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma suffered significant drops in the rankings after poor performances in the ongoing series against Australia. Kohli, with scores of 36 and 5, dropped to 24th, while Rohit fell to 40th.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 82-run knock propelled him to fourth in the rankings, while Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden century saw him jump to 53rd.
Australia’s Steve Smith moved up to seventh following back-to-back centuries, while England’s Joe Root continued to lead the rankings.
In the bowling rankings, India’s Jasprit Bumrah reached a career-high 907 points, while Australia’s Pat Cummins jumped to third, and teammate Josh Hazlewood moved up to second.
South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada slipped to fourth, while Marco Jansen climbed six spots to fifth, following an outstanding performance in Centurion against Pakistan.
