Following their dominant performances against the West Indies, several young Pakistani cricketers have made massive strides in the latest ICC T20I rankings, showing promising signs for the future of Pakistan cricket.
Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem stole the spotlight by jumping a staggering 69 places to 34th among bowlers, racking up 542 rating points after consistently troubling the Windies batters.
In the batting rankings, it was a breakout update for Pakistan’s new generation:
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Hassan Nawaz, who tallied 79 runs, leaped 24 spots to 30th.
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Saim Ayub, with 130 runs including two fifties, jumped 25 places to 37th.
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Sahibzada Farhan climbed 34 positions to 63rd, thanks to his 91-run contribution.
Veterans Salman Ali Agha and Fakhar Zaman saw minor upward shifts, reaching 76th and 78th, respectively.
Conversely, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan slid down the list due to inactivity and recent form, both falling three spots to 17th and 19th, respectively. Struggling wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris suffered the biggest drop, falling 21 places to 86th.
On the bowling side, Haris Rauf remains the highest-ranked Pakistani at 26th, followed closely by Abbas Afridi (27th) and Shaheen Afridi (36th). Mohammad Nawaz was a big gainer here, rocketing 51 spots to 56th.
In global standings, Jacob Duffy (New Zealand), Adil Rashid (England), and Akeal Hosein (West Indies) make up the top three T20I bowlers.
In the all-rounder rankings, Pakistan’s Shadab Khan slipped to 19th, but Saim Ayub’s 70-place jump to 24th turned heads once again. Mohammad Nawaz moved to 36th, while Iftikhar Ahmed and Abbas Afridi dropped further.
Hardik Pandya of India still leads the T20I all-rounder charts, with Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi rounding out the top three.
Pakistan’s young guns are proving they belong on the international stage, with the team eyeing further success ahead of the next T20I calendar.