Pakistan’s ICC Test Rankings Affected by Limited Red-Ball Cricket

Pakistan’s standing in the most recent ICC Test rankings has been negatively impacted, with several players experiencing drops in their respective categories. This shift comes amid a shortage of scheduled red-ball matches.

The team’s upcoming schedule includes only white-ball cricket over the subsequent two months, featuring series against Bangladesh and the West Indies. This focus is anticipated to further contribute to stagnation or a decline in the rankings.

Their campaign in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 is set to commence with a home series against South Africa in October–November.

Individual Player Rankings
  • Middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel has moved out of the top 10, now ranking 11th with 739 rating points.
  • Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has descended three positions to 19th, holding 671 points, while former captain Babar Azam has maintained his 22nd position with 651 points.
  • All-rounder Salman Ali Agha remains steady at 33rd with 592 points, and Test captain Shan Masood has advanced three places to 44th with 542 points.
  • Abdullah Shafique remains at the 51st spot, while Kamran Ghulam has fallen two places to 76th. Young opener Saim Ayub also dropped two places to 83rd, with 352 points.
Rishabh Pant’s Ascendancy

Conversely, India’s Rishabh Pant is ascending, achieving a career-best rating in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings.

His centuries (134 and 118) in the first Test against England have propelled him to sixth place with 801 points, only 88 points behind the top-ranked batter Joe Root. Pant is now just one spot below his career-high ranking of fifth, attained in 2022.

Top Batters
  • Root retains the No.1 position following scores of 28 and an unbeaten 53.
  • Harry Brook trails by 15 rating points.
  • Kane Williamson of New Zealand is third with 867 points.
Bowling Rankings
  • Noman Ali has dropped one place to fifth, with 806 rating points.
  • Sajid Khan retains 20th position, followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi at 21st with 641 points.
  • Mohammad Abbas has risen to 26th, while Naseem Shah gained a spot to 34th with 526 points.
Other Bowlers
  • Abrar Ahmed dropped to 48th, Khurram Shahzad slid to 62nd, and Aamer Jamal stands at 70th.
  • Mir Hamza and Salman Ali Agha fell six and five places respectively, to 92nd and 93rd, while Zahid Mahmood dropped to 95th.
Top Ranked Bowlers

India’s Jasprit Bumrah is the No.1 ranked Test bowler, followed by Kagiso Rabada of South Africa and Pat Cummins of Australia.