Basit Ali blasts ICC for retaining Babar Azam as No 1 ODI batter

Former cricketer Basit Ali has criticised International Cricket Council (ICC) over the latest ODI batters rankings after Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam retained the top spot.

Azam, 29, retained the No 1 spot with 824 rating points followed by Indian trio of Rohit Sharma, who has 765 rating points, Shubman Gill, who has 763 points and Virat Kohli 746 points.

However, the former cricketer disagreed with the latest ODI rankings and regretted that the performing batters like Australia’s Travis Head and New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra are not in the top ten.

Gill, who found himself grappling with a poor form, also came under fire. “Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there,” he said, severely criticising the cricketing body that the ICC doesn't want the Pakistani cricketer to perform. 

He pointed out the performances in the ODI World Cup 2023, saying: "We saw the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head, and Virat Kohli at the World Cup. They scored three to four hundreds in the tournament, but they are not ranked higher” Ali added.

“For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman scored a century each. Babar Azam did not score a single hundred. He scored his last century against Nepal in Asia Cup. What kind of ranking do they [ICC] give?

"The people at ICC are Babar Azam's enemies. If you asked Babar who is the current number one, he would also pick Travis Head or Virat Kohli. Even he wouldn't say that he is the number one," he concluded.