Shaheen Afridi achieves career-high ODI ranking

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has broken into the top-20 for the first time in his career while Babar Azam has edged closer to the second spot in the ICC ODI Player Rankings, which were released on Wednesday.

Shaheen, who took five for 49 in the series opener, has jumped eight places to 16^th to become only the second Pakistan bowler after Mohammad Amir (eighth) to feature inside the top-20.

Wahab Riaz took five wickets in the series, including four for 41 in the first match, and has been rewarded with a jump of six places that now puts him in 60^th place, while Mohammad Hasnain, who took five for 26 in the match that was decided in the Super Over, has leapfrogged from 202^nd position to 120^th spot.

Pakistan bowlers losing ground include Shadab Khan (down by one to 30^th), Imad Wasim (down by six to 40^th), Usman Shinwari (down by four to 44^th) and Hasan Ali (down by three to 49^th). Except for Imad, the three bowlers missed the series against Zimbabwe, which Pakistan won by 2-1.

The bowlers’ list is headed by New Zealand’s Trent Boult, with Jasprit Bumrah of India and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman of Afghanistan ranked second and third, respectively.

In the batting chart, Babar Azam has retained third ranking but has gained 8 points to rise to 837 points following a series aggregate of 221 runs. He now trails India’s Rohit Sharma by 18 points, while Virat Kohli is ranked number-one on 871 points.

Pakistan batsmen unable to hold their pre-series ranking include Imam-ul-Haq (12^th, down by one) and Fakhar Zaman (18^th, down by three). Haris Sohail, who missed the second and third ODIs due to an injury, has stayed in 33^rd position.