Former Pakistan International, Basit Ali, has criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for keeping Pakistan star Babar Azam at the top of the ICC ODI rankings for batters. Ali said that he is surprised to see Azam at the top of the ODI rankings, given that he has not performed in the format for a long time.
He does not feel that Azam and Shubman Gill deserves to be in the top 5 of the ICC ODI rankings and cheekily took a dig at ICC by stating that the board does not want Azam to perform and hence has kept him in that position. He was also surprised by the fact that Rachin Ravindra and Travis Head do not get into the top 5 of The ICC ODI rankings.
He said:
“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 Ali said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Babar Azam has not scored a century since the Asia cup 2023 opener against Nepal
Azam has been lacking runs in all formats since the Asia cup 2023 opener against Nepal. After that game, he had a poor tournament and did not contribute much. His last appearance in the ODI format came during the ODI World Cup in India in 2023.
He failed to score even one century as the captain of the team and Pakistan were knocked out of the group stage in a humiliating fashion. Azam managed to score 320 runs in 9 innings during the tournament.
Azam has faced a lot of criticism for his batting form and his inability to stand up in important games of ICC tournaments. Moreover, he has received criticism for his captaincy as well, failing to lead the team over the line even after captaining in multiple tournaments.
After the ODI World Cup 2023, Azam relinquished his captaincy duties from all formats. However, ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup 2024, he was again reappointed as the captain of the limited overs side. Pakistan suffered yet another humiliating hit from group stage after losing to India and USA and Azam failed to score big yet again.
