Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Hasan Ali has maintained his hold on the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings as the top ODI bowler. Hasan Ali is ahead of Imran Tahir from South Africa and Jasprit Bumrah from India. Mohammad Hafeez (23) and Mohammad Amir (25) are other Pakistan bowlers who are ranked among the top 50. India’s Virat Kohli is the top ODI batsman followed by AB de Villiers from South Africa and Australia’s David Warner. Babar Azam ranked fourth is the top Pakistan batsman in the rankings. Mohammad Hafeez (26), Azhar Ali (35) and Fakhar Zaman (46) are other Pakistan batsmen featured in the top 50. In the all-rounders, Mohammad Hafeez is ranked first ahead of Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews. Imad Wasim is ranked fourteenth. As a team, South Africa topped the rankings, while Pakistan are at sixth place.

ICC Test Rankings: Steve Smith from Australia is ranked as the top Test batsman followed by Virat Kohli (India) and Joe Root (England). Pakistan’s Azhar Ali (8), Asad Shafiq (28) and Sarfraz Ahmed (34) are featured among the top 50. England’s James Anderson is the top-ranked Test bowler followed by Kagiso Rabada (South Africa) and Ravindra Jadeja (India). Yasir Shah (15), Wahab Riaz (23), Rahat Ali (35), Mohammad Abbas (42), Mohammad Amir (44) and Imran Khan (48) are Pakistan bowlers among the top 50. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan is the top-ranked Test all-rounder, while no Pakistani featured in the top 20. India are the top-ranked Test team while Pakistan are ranked seventh.

ICC T20 Rankings: Indians Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah are the top-ranked T20 batsman and bowler in the ICC rankings. Shakib Al Hasan from Bangladesh is the top-ranked T20 all-rounder. Babar Azam is ranked tenth in T20 batsman list while Imad Wasim is the second-ranked T20 bowler. Shoaib Malik is ranked ninth on the all-rounders’ list. Pakistan are the top-ranked T20 team followed by New Zealand and West Indies.

Published in Daily Times, December 19^th 2017.