Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has raised significant concerns regarding the latest ICC Men’s ODI Rankings for batters, specifically questioning the positions of Babar Azam and Shubman Gill.
According to the rankings, Babar Azam, Pakistan’s captain, is currently at the top with 824 rating points. Following him are India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, in second place with 765 points while Indian teammates Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli in third and fourth positions, with 763 and 746 points, respectively.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Basit Ali expressed his doubts about the accuracy of these rankings. He hinted at possible hidden agenda behind the ICC’s decisions, suggesting that the organization might be deliberately keeping Babar Azam at the top spot to hinder his further development as a player.
The former cricketer also questioned the legitimacy of Shubman Gill’s ranking, expressing confusion over the criteria used to place these players in the top positions.
Ali further criticized the rankings by pointing out that Babar’s last ODI century came against Nepal in the Asia Cup, and he failed to score a hundred during the previous year’s World Cup.
He contrasted this with the performances of players like Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head, and Virat Kohli, who all had outstanding World Cup campaigns.
Basit Ali concluded by making a bold claim that the ICC might be working against Babar Azam. He even suggested that Babar himself might not believe he is currently the best ODI batsman in the world.
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