Pakistan captain Babar Azam has replaced Virat Kohli as the No. 1 ODI batsman in ICC Rankings. Babar is now eight points clear of the Indian captain, who is second in the list with 857 points. India’s Rohit Sharma maintains his third position in the list, followed by Ross Taylor of New Zealand and Aaron Finch of Australia.
While Kohli is leading Royal Challengers Bangalore in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, Babar is on tour to South Africa.
Babar Azam 🔝🔥
The Pakistan captain has overtaken Virat Kohli to become the No.1 batsman in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC men's ODI rankings 👑 pic.twitter.com/krxoKRDsSY
— ICC (@ICC) April 14, 2021
Kohli held the top spot for 1,258 days, from August 2017. Ever since making his debut for Pakistan, Babar has been among the most consistent performers. A productive ODI series in South Africa, where he finished as the second-highest run-getter, only behind colleague Fakhar Zaman, saw him leapfrog Kohli to acquire the coveted position.
Starting South Africa’s tour on 837 points, Babar made a terrific century in the first match that earned him 21 points. He then lost five points in the second, but an 82-ball 94 in the last match of the series gained him 13.
Babar joined the illustrious list of Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf to become the fourth Pakistani to achieve this feat. Once the top-ranked T20I batsman as well, Babar has now slipped to third place, behind Dawid Malan and Aaron Finch.
In Test rankings, Babar is on the sixth spot, just below Kohli. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is on the top.
Fakhar, too, also broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career, largely due to his 193. With 778 points, he currently sits at No. 7.