Babar Azam ended Kohli’s more than three-year reign as top-ranked ODI batsman
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has ended India cricketer Virat Kohli’s 41-month reign to become the top-ranked one-day batsman in the latest rankings.
Babar’s match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI against South Africa helped him gain 13 rating points to reach a career-best 865 points.
“This is another milestone in my career, which will now require even more hard work and absolute consistency with the bat in order for me to hold on to the ranking for an extended period of time,” Babar said.
The 26-year-old is the fourth Pakistan batsman to achieve the honour after Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf.
“I feel privileged and honoured to have joined the company of stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf, who will always be the shining stars of Pakistan cricket” Babar Azam said.
Babar’s cricket journey began playing on the streets in Lahore. He was playing serious tape-ball cricket at the age of 12 and faced his first setback two years later when he was rejected from the national academy. However, a year later he was declared the country’s best Under-15 batsman.
At 17, he had already become a regular in Pakistan’s domestic tournaments. He scored a brilliant 129 off 132 deliveries in his first-ever match at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
ICC ODI Batting rankings
- Babar Azam (Pak)
- Virat Kohli (Ind)
- Rohit Sharma (Ind)
- Ross Taylor (NZ)
- Aaron Finch (Aus)