Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam move up the ICC Test rating ladder

Pakistans Babar Azam walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal during the fourth day of the first cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on July 19, 2022 (left) and Pakistans Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates after taking the wicket of Sri Lankas Niroshan Dickwella (not pictured) during the first day of the first cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on July 16, 2022. — AFP

Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, and rising bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi both rose in the latest rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday. The Pakistani captain moved closer to the top Test ranking, which means Azam is one step closer to becoming the best batter across all three game formats.

Azam already commands the top spot in both white-ball competitions, although Joe Root of England remains in front of him at the Test level. Root maintains his commanding lead atop the Test rankings, but Babar jumps up to third overall and achieves a career-high rating of 874 points thanks to his outstanding century in Pakistan’s ongoing series against Sri Lanka in Galle.

In that Test, Babar contributed 119 runs to a team total of 218 runs, or about 55% of Pakistan’s first-innings runs, helping the team stay within striking distance of Sri Lanka’s 222-run first-innings total.