IND Vs PAK: Babar Azam's Teammate Imam-ul-Haq To Give Fight To The Pakistan Captain For No.1 Spot In ICC Rankings

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is currently in his top form and holds the number one rank in the ICC ODI Batting Rankings, and his teammate Imam-ul-Haq is breathing just over his neck to take over the first place from the 28-year-old skipper.

In Pakistan’s first match of the Asia Cup 2023 against Nepal on Wednesday (August 30th), Imam-ul-Haq failed to display a stellar performance however, Babar Azam did not fail and played a 151-run knock from 131 balls with a strike rate of 115.27 to give a target of 342 runs.

Iftikhar Ahmed also played a magnificent innings and scored 109 runs from 71 balls with a strike rate of 153.82. Pakistan’s openers failed to make runs but the middle order held the momentum and dominated the game and it is most likely the Men in Green will get a taste of their first win in the continental tournament.

In the MRF Tyres ODI Batting Rankings, Babar Azam holds the top spot with 877 rating points after ICC updated the weekly ranking.

However, the Men in Green opener, Imam-ul-Haq climbed four spots on the table after the table was updated, and currently Imam-ul-Haq is in third place with 748 points and has a great chance to overtake the Pakistan skipper in the Asia Cup 2023.

Dutch batsman Rassie van der Dussen is in second place with 777 points and another Pakistani Fakhar Zaman holds fifth place with 732 points and will have an opportunity to climb up the chart in the ongoing continental tournament.

India opener Shubman Gill stands with 743 points, and star batsman Virat Kohli is with 705 points. The Men in Blue skipper, Rohit Sharma is under Kohli with 693 points.

This team has put in a lot of hard work: Babar Azam

Before the start of the inaugural game of the Asia Cup 2023 in a pre-match press conference, Babar Azam said that the team is not under pressure and will have more confidence as they are the number one ranked side in the 50-over format.

“I would not say that there is a pressure. Rather, we enter this tournament with more confidence. This team has put in a lot of hard work and effort over the last few years and we achieving the top spot is a testimony of it,” Babar Azam said.

Rohit Sharma-led India will lock horns against Pakistan on Saturday (September 2nd) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka.