Pakistan’s all-format captain, Babar Azam, has extended his lead at the top of the ICC ODI Batter Rankings after a solid showing against the Netherlands in the first ODI.
The 27-year-old is now 91 points ahead of the second-ranked batter, Imam-ul-Haq. Imam failed to impress as he managed to score only 2 runs off 19 balls in the first ODI.
Babar, on the other hand, was exquisite as usual as he scored a scintillating half-century. He scored 74 runs off 85 balls before being dismissed by Logan van Beek. Babar’s exceptional innings along with Fakhar Zaman’s magnificent century helped Pakistan post 314/6 in the first innings.
Despite a strong showing by the Netherlands with the bat, they were unable to chase down the target as Pakistan gained a 1-0 lead in the series.
Babar is the only player to be ranked in the top five rankings in each of the three formats. He is currently ranked number 1 in ODIs and T20Is and number 3 in Test cricket.
The world’s number one batter will be looking to further extend his lead in the next two ODIs against the Netherlands.
Here are the latest rankings:
| Ranking | Player | Rating Points |
| 1 | Babar Azam | 891 |
| 2 | Imam-ul-Haq | 800 |
| 3 | Rassie van der Dussen | 789 |
| 4 | Quinton de Kock | 784 |
| 5 | Virat Kohli | 767 |
| 6 | Rohit Sharma | 763 |
| 7 | Ross Taylor | 744 |
| 8 | David Warner | 737 |
| 9 | Jonny Bairstow | 732 |
| 10 | Aaron Finch | 715 |
Featured image via Farooq Jehanzeb
Babar-e-Azam!