File photo of Babar Azam.© AFP
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali took a dig at the International Cricket Council (ICC) after star batter Babar Azam retained his place at the top of the ODI rankings. Despite not playing an ODI since November 2023, Babar kept his place at the top, followed by three Indian stars -- Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. Sharing his views on the latest ICC rankings, Basit suggested ICC doesn't want Babar to perform and has thus kept him at the top.
Basit also questioned the logic behind the ranking system, highlighting the absence of star batters like Travis Head (Australia) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand).
"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 added.
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma make a big jump in rankings, climbing up to the second spot after firing with the bat in the three-game ODI series against Sri Lanka.
In a series where not many batters were able to find their footing, Rohit ended as the top scorer of the series with 157 runs to his name with an average of 52.33 and a strike-rate of 141.44 with two half-centuries.
(With ANI Inputs)