Babar Azam, Pakistan’s captain, became the number one ODI batsman in the ICC ODI rankings on Wednesday. With 865 points, Babar has surpassed Virat Kohli at the top of the rankings chart.
Kohli is now second on the list with 857 points, and by eight points, Babar now leads the Indian captain, the ICC said in a statement. Rohit Sharma is ranked third on the list with 825 points.
From August 2017 to April 2021, Kohli was the number one ranked ODI batsman for a total of 1,258 days. Babar, a star at the 2010 and 2012 U19 World Cups and who has played for ODI since 2015, rose to the number one position after becoming the second-best run scorer in ODI’s recently concluded three-game series against South Africa. The right-hander hit 228 runs with a high score of 103.
Babar has followed in the footsteps of countrymen Zaheer Abbas (1983–84), Javed Miandad (1988–89), and Mohammad Yousuf (2003) by ending Kohli’s 1,258-day reign as the number one ODI batter.
Babar has made the best of 5th place in tests and is currently in 6th position, while he is third in T20Is and has previously been number one.
