Babar Azam slips down six spots in ICC Test rankings as R Ashwin retains top position among bowlers

Babar Azam's struggles in Test cricket have resulted in a decline in his position in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) rankings. The ex-Pakistan Test captain failed to make an impact in the recent match against Bangladesh, getting dismissed for a two-ball duck in the first innings and scoring only 22 runs off 50 balls in the second innings. This poor performance contributed to Pakistan's unexpected loss to Bangladesh, marking their first defeat in a Test match at home against the opposition, ultimately suffering a 10-wicket defeat.

Babar drops a whopping six places to fall from equal third to ninth following his failure to score big in Rawalpindi. His teammate Mohammad Rizwan, however, gained seven spots and achieved a new career-high rating by moving inside the top 10 at equal 10th following his century in the same match. Rizwan had scored an unbeaten 171 off 239 balls in the first innings in which Pakistan declared on 448/6.

Bangladesh's response was led by senior wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored 191 and helped his side get to a score of 565. He has achieved a career-high rating as he gains seven spots to move to 17th.

Meanwhile, veteran India batter Virat Kohli moved up two rungs to eighth place while his captain Rohit Sharma dropped a spot to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings released here on Wednesday. Joining Rohit and Kohli in the top 10 is young Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has moved up a spot to seventh.

Ashwin continues to lead bowlers' rankings

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remains out in front of the rankings for Test bowlers, although fellow tweaker Prabath Jayasuriya moves up one place to ninth for Sri Lanka following his five wickets in Manchester against England.

England seamer Chris Woakes (up four rungs to 16th) and Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando (up 10 spots to 17th) also gain some ground, while there are new career-best ratings for Pakistan right-armer Naseem Shah (up four spots to 33rd) and England's Gus Atkinson (up four places to 42nd) following good returns from their recent appearances.

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