Babar Azam, Saim Ayub Make Big Gains in ICC T20I Rankings After Series Win Over South Africa
Pakistan’s 2-1 T20I series victory over South Africa has brought a wave of positive movement in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, with several national stars making notable climbs.
According to the rankings update released on Wednesday, Babar Azam and Saim Ayub were among the biggest movers. Babar, who anchored Pakistan’s series-clinching win with a composed half-century in the third T20I, jumped nine places to 30th with 563 rating points. Meanwhile, Saim’s explosive unbeaten 71 in the second match helped him surge ten spots to 39th.
Among other batters, Sahibzada Farhan held steady at 11th, while captain Salman Ali Agha continued his upward trajectory, rising ten places to 54th. In contrast, Fakhar Zaman dropped four spots to 63rd, and Mohammad Rizwan, who missed the series, slipped two places to 42nd.
On the bowling front, Abrar Ahmed retained his position at 8th, while Shaheen Afridi climbed three places to 13th following a strong showing with the new ball. The biggest mover was Salman Mirza, who soared an incredible 98 places to 45th after his fiery spell in the second T20I. Faheem Ashraf also impressed, gaining 50 places to reach 51st.
Elsewhere, Mohammad Nawaz moved up to 32nd, Sufiyan Muqeem dropped to 23rd, and Haris Rauf slipped three places to 37th.
In the all-rounder rankings, fortunes were mixed for Pakistan’s players. Nawaz fell four spots to 10th, but Faheem Ashraf climbed eight places to 30th. Shaheen Afridi slipped to 56th, while Salman Ali Agha continued to rise, reaching 63rd.
Meanwhile, Saim Ayub maintained his position as the world’s top-ranked T20I all-rounder, ahead of Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and West Indies’ Roston Chase, who occupy the second and third spots, respectively.