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South Africa’s stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder has made a remarkable rise in the latest ICC Test Batters Rankings, overtaking former Pakistan captain Babar Azam following a record-breaking performance.
Mulder smashed an unbeaten 367 against Zimbabwe in the second Test, which helped him jump 34 spots to 22nd place with 669 rating points. As a result, Babar Azam dropped to 23rd position with 651 points.
The updated rankings also brought a major change at the top, where England’s Harry Brook has now claimed the number one position in Test batting, pushing his teammate Joe Root to second place. Former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson remains third.
Among Pakistani batters, vice-captain Saud Shakeel dropped two places to 13th, while wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan slipped to 21st with 671 points. Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan’s T20I captain, fell one place to 34th, and Test captain Shan Masood dropped four spots to 48th.
Opening batter Abdullah Shafique also moved down to 52nd place. Kamran Ghulam remained steady at 76th, while Saim Ayub slipped one spot to 84th.
In the ICC Test Bowling Rankings, Pakistan spinner Sajid Khan moved up one place to 19th, while fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi climbed to 20th. Left-arm spinner Noman Ali continues to be the highest-ranked Pakistani bowler, holding firm at fifth position with 806 rating points.
Among other Pakistani bowlers, Mohammad Abbas dropped to 27th, Naseem Shah stayed at 35th, and Abrar Ahmed slipped two spots to 50th. Khurram Shahzad fell to 64th, while Aamer Jamal, Mir Hamza, and Zahid Mahmood remained at 71st, 93rd, and 97th respectively.
Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the Test bowling rankings, followed by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Australia’s Pat Cummins.
