Spokesman Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has reclaimed the top spot in the latest ICC Men’s T20 International (T20I) Batting Rankings, according to a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“In the rankings that were announced last week, England’s Dawid Malan (831 points) led Babar (820 points) by 11 points. Since the last announcement, Babar has notched up half-centuries against Afghanistan (51) and Namibia (70), whereas Dawid Malan had scores of eight against Australia and six against Sri Lanka in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the statement reads.
“Contrasting performances in the past week has meant Babar has turned the 11-point deficit into a 36-point lead over Malan. As such, Babar is now the only batter to sit inside the 800-point mark on 834 points, while Malan has slipped to 798 points.”
The PCB statement said it was the sixth time that the Pakistan captain has topped the T20I batting charts.
Reacting to the ICC’s T20I Batting Ranking, Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam said that it is indeed a “proud moment” as he has reclaimed the top slot.
Earlier on Wednesday, ICC announced that Azam has overtaken England’s Dawid Malan and grabbed the no 1 position for batters.
Shedding light on his struggle to reclaim the spot back, the skipper said that the reason behind this was “my focus, dedication and hard work which I try to improve daily.”
In a one-minute-55-seconds-long video shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), he said that when a player gets to an international stage, they need to make sure they are consistent as “this increases the responsibility on your shoulder.”
Azam assured his fans that he will try to remain consistent and will try to retain the position.
Speaking about the performance of other players, he said that, as a captain, he feels proud that the players in his team are performing well.
“I am proud of everybody as they are performing well, they are being awarded “Man of the Match” trophies and their overall rankings are also improving,” he added,
While playing on international platforms, it is important to remain consistent.
“We have tried our best to perform well and will continue to do, going forward,” he said, adding that the more you back your players, the more they perform well.
Meanwhile, Twitter erupted with joy Wednesday after Pakistan skipper Babar Azam reclaimed the top slot in ICC’s T20I batsmen’s rankings after two successive half-centuries in the ongoing T20 World Cup (and three in four matches).
His recent performances enabled Babar Azam to overtake England’s Dawid Malan and grab the number 1 T20 spot for batsmen in the ICC rankings.
Netizens were quick to lavish praise on Azam, declaring him their favourite batsman and also, “Mr Consistent”.
Sharing the famous dialogue from Bollywood movie “Munna Bhai MBBS”, a Twitter user Mansoor Mueen Chandio wrote: “The King is back.”
Another user Yaseen Chaudhry urged all other fans to say MashaAllah to prevent the skipper from any “evil eye” harm.
Twitter user Mairaj Ahmed expressed his excitement by saying that Babar Azam is finally back on the top. Another fan congratulating the skipper, saying: “Spread the word, darlin Babar back.”