Babar Azam, a well-known cricket player from Pakistan, is making news in the Asia Cup 2023. According to the recent ICC ODI Rankings, Australia is in first place with 118 points, Pakistan is second with 116 points, and India is third with 115 points.
India and Pakistan are set to play a significant match on September 2, their first ODI encounter since the 2019 World Cup. There’s another match scheduled for September 10 during the Asia Cup.
Pakistan has a chance to become the top-ranked ODI team next month. They’ll face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka from August 22 to August 26. If Pakistan wins all three matches, they’ll have 119 points and take the top spot from Australia.
But even if Pakistan loses one match in the series, their ranking could be affected. If they win 2 out of 3 matches (2-1), they’ll have the same points as India (115 points), but India will be ahead due to a small difference. If Pakistan loses 1 out of 3 matches (1-2), they’ll fall to third place with 111 points.
Though Pakistan is expected to do well against Afghanistan, it’s important to note that Afghanistan is strong in white-ball cricket. If Afghanistan wins all three matches (3-0), Pakistan’s points will drop to 111, and Afghanistan will rise remarkably in the rankings. Even if Afghanistan wins 2 out of 3 matches (2-1), they’ll move up in the rankings above Bangladesh.
