Pakistan’s players have made significant strides in the latest ICC Test Rankings, released following South Africa’s commanding win over Australia in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–25 final at Lord’s.
Vice-captain Saud Shakeel has broken into the top 10 Test batters for the first time, rising to seventh place with 739 rating points. Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan dropped to 16th with 671 points, and Babar Azam maintained his 21st position with 651 points.
Other Pakistani batters in the rankings include Salman Ali Agha at 31st (592 points), captain Shan Masood at 45th (542), Abdullah Shafique at 51st, Kamran Ghulam at 81st, and Saim Ayub at 88th.
England’s Joe Root currently leads the Test batting rankings, followed by teammate Harry Brook and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
South Africa’s Aiden Markram, who was named Player of the Match in the WTC final, surged seven places to 11th, just two points shy of the top 10. His teammate David Bedingham climbed 17 places to 40th, tying with Australia’s Cameron Green.
In the bowling department, Pakistan’s Noman Ali made an impressive leap, climbing into the top five at fourth with 806 points. Sajid Khan and Shaheen Afridi held steady at 21st and 23rd, respectively, while Mohammad Abbas is ranked 29th.
Other Pakistani bowlers featured include Abrar Ahmed (52nd), Khurram Shahzad (64th), Aamer Jamal (72nd), Mir Hamza (93rd), Salman Ali Agha (95th), and Zahid Mahmood (97th).
South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi, who delivered a pivotal spell in the WTC final, climbed seven spots to 37th, joining Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara and Pakistan’s Naseem Shah in a three-way tie.
For Australia, Mitchell Starc advanced to 10th place in both the bowling and all-rounder rankings after a five-wicket haul and a resilient half-century in the final. All-rounder Beau Webster also made gains, rising 13 places in the batting charts after top-scoring for Australia in the first innings.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the Test bowling rankings, with South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and Australia’s Pat Cummins following in second and third place, respectively.
Rashid Latif Unveils His WTC XI — No Pakistani Inclusion
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has revealed his ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023–25 Team of the Tournament on X (formerly Twitter), ahead of the official announcement. Notably, no Pakistani players were selected in his XI.
Latif named South African skipper Temba Bavuma as captain, and Kyle Verreynne as the wicketkeeper. India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Australia’s Usman Khawaja were chosen as openers. Jaiswal was India’s top scorer in the WTC cycle with 1,798 runs at an average of 52.88, including four centuries, while Khawaja scored 1,428 runs at 39.66 with two hundreds.
England’s Joe Root, the highest run-scorer of the cycle with 1,968 runs at 54.66 and seven centuries, was placed at No. 3. The middle order featured Bavuma, England’s Harry Brook (1,463 runs), and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis (1,123 runs at 62.38).
The bowling lineup included veteran Australian spinner Nathan Lyon (66 wickets), New Zealand’s Matt Henry (48 wickets), South Africa’s Rabada (nine wickets in the final), and India’s pace ace Jasprit Bumrah.
Latif’s WTC XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Usman Khawaja, Joe Root, Temba Bavuma (captain), Harry Brook, Kamindu Mendis, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Nathan Lyon, Matt Henry, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah.
