Cricket

Babar Azam topples Virat Kohli to become top-ranked ODI batsman in ICC rankings

An international cricketer and Pakistan team captain Babar Azam has overhauled India’s Virat Kohli to take the No1 spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings, on Wednesday.

Babar has ended the Indian captain’s long-term reign at the top of the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings.

The 26-year-old has thus become only the fourth batsman from Pakistan to claim the top spot in ICC ODI rankings.

Earlier this month, he continued his impressive performance streak in ODIs with yet another century as his team beat South Africa in a thriller at the Centurion. Led by Babar Azam’s 13th ODI hundred, Pakistan won the first ODI against South Africa on the last ball despite being in the driver’s seat for most of the match.

In the process, Babar became the fastest men’s international cricketer to score 13 ODI hundreds, going past the likes of other great players such as Virat Kohli and Hashim Amla.

Babar has taken just 76 innings to achieve the feat going past South Africa star Hashim Amla who until now was the fastest, having scored his 13th ODI hundred in 83 innings. India skipper Virat Kohli got there in 86 innings.

After being appointed as the Test captain, last year, Babar said that he is happy with the comparisons with the best players of his generation and also aware of his status in international cricket.

However, the Pakistan skipper across formats has set a benchmark for himself and keeps challenging his own performances as he knows that his key responsibility is to win games for Pakistan.

 

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