Babar Azam closes in on Rohit and Virat in ICC ODI rankings after heroics against Zimbabwe

Azam made 221 runs in 3 ODIs vs Zimbabwe at home.

Pakistan’s newest limited-overs captain Babar Azam had a bumper ODI series against Zimbabwe at home. Pakistan won the series 2-1 and Azam scored 221 runs in the series in 3 games including a sensational knock of 125 in the 3^rd ODI.

Thanks to these returns, Azam now has 837 points in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. While he remains third on the list, Azam has closed in on Virat Kohli (871) and Rohit Sharma (855), the two Indian batting stalwarts.

Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams, who themselves scored centuries each in the series, broke into the top 50 of ICC ODI batting rankings. While Taylor climbed up nine positions to reach 42nd position, Williams moved up 12 places to reach 46th position in the rankings.

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All-rounder Imad Wasim, who also looked impressive in the series, gained three spots to break out into the top 50. Wasim reached 49th position in the rankings.

On the bowling side, Shaheen Afridi achieved a career-best 16th position in the rankings after a breakout performance in the series. He registered figures of 5/49 in the first ODI helping Pakistan win the match.