Babar Azam Slips to Ninth in ICC ODI Rankings
Babar Azam has slipped two places to ninth in the latest ICC Men’s ODI batting rankings, leaving Pakistan without a single batter in the top five. The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the updated rankings on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, following the ongoing home ODI tri-series against England and Sri Lanka. Babar’s fall reflects a modest run in the tournament, where he has scored 118 runs in four matches without converting his starts into a big innings.
Gill leads, no Pakistan batter in the top five
India’s Shubman Gill remains at the top of the ODI batting rankings with 841 rating points, followed by New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell in second place with 794 points and India’s Virat Kohli in third with 781 points. India’s Rohit Sharma sits fourth with 770 points, while Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran completes the top five with 752 points. England’s Ben Duckett moved up to eighth, taking the position Babar previously held, while India’s KL Rahul rounds out the top ten.
Pakistan’s other batters also slipped in the update. Salman Ali Agha dropped one place to 13th after starting the tri-series with a century against Sri Lanka but managing only 51 runs in his next three matches. Mohammad Rizwan, who has been dropped from Pakistan’s ODI squad, fell eight places to 42nd, while Fakhar Zaman slipped two spots to 46th. The one bright spot for Pakistan’s batting was Shadab Khan, who climbed 32 places to 92nd after his match-winning century against England. Read how Babar’s form was defended ahead of the tri-series final: https://niazitvnews.com/?p=2365
Shaheen climbs to sixth among bowlers
Among the bowlers, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan retained the top spot, while South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj moved up to second. Pakistan’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed slipped one place to third, despite not featuring in the ongoing tri-series. Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi climbed two places to sixth after taking eight wickets in four tri-series matches, making him one of Pakistan’s leading performers with the ball in the tournament.
Elsewhere in the bowling rankings, Haris Rauf dropped nine places to 29th, while Naseem Shah slipped six spots to 53rd. Young left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas made significant progress, jumping 15 places to 68th with 435 rating points after taking six wickets against England. Haris Rauf was also fined by the ICC this week for a code of conduct breach: https://niazitvnews.com/?p=2429
Farhan shines in T20I rankings
The same ICC update brought better news for Pakistan in the T20I format. Sahibzada Farhan climbed one place to second in the T20I batting rankings with 883 rating points, moving ahead of India’s Ishan Kishan. India’s Abhishek Sharma leads the T20I batting chart with 897 points. In the T20I bowling rankings, Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed retained third place, while Salman Mirza slipped one position to 14th.
The rankings update comes just days before the tri-series final in Lahore on Saturday, October 31, where Pakistan will face Sri Lanka. With Babar’s form under scrutiny and the final approaching, the former captain will have a chance to answer his critics on the field — and to climb back up a ranking list in which Pakistan’s batters are currently chasing the world’s best. South Africa’s Marco Jansen reached world No. 1 in the Test rankings in the same update cycle: https://niazitvnews.com/?p=2425
Sources: ICC via Daily Pakistan, Geo Super, ProPakistani, Hum English