'On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there?' - Basit Ali questions legitimacy of rankings provided by ICC

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rankings, with ODI standings, started in 1998. A proper format has been set to categorize players under the titles of 'batters', 'bowlers', and 'fielders'.  The players' standings depend on their performances in the tournament. However, the methodology by which the governing body evaluates these performances has remained conspicuously undisclosed.

Former Pakistani cricketer, Basit Ali pointed out the way these rankings are decided by ICC. He also questioned the placements of Pakistan's Babar Azam and India's Shubman Gill, who are currently in the first and third positions respectively, while southpaws Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra, who have notably outperformed the right-handers in their recent ODI campaigns, find themselves absent from the top 10 list.

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"When I saw the ICC ranking (ODI batters), Babar Azam was at the top, number two was Rohit Sharma, number three was Shubman Gill, and then there was Virat Kohli at number four. I did not find it necessary to read the remaining names because I couldn't see Travis Head and Rachin Ravindra. I think the ICC wants that Babar doesn't perform. He would be happy with being the number one-ranked batter in ODIs. Who gives these rankings? On what basis are Babar Azam and Shubman Gill there," Basit said on his YouTube channel.

We saw the likes of Rachin, de Kock, Head, and Kohli at the World Cup: Basit

Furthermore, he also pointed out that Babar Azam's last ODI appearance was several months ago, and highlighted the stellar performances of the southpaws, along with Quinton de Kock and Virat Kohli during the previous year's World Cup. Additionally, he added the names of two Pakistani cricketers who each scored centuries, further intensifying his scrutiny of the ICC's ranking methodology. 

"Babar's last ODI was at the last year's World Cup. We saw the likes of Rachin, de Kock, Head, and Kohli at the World Cup. They scored three-four hundreds in the tournament. For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman scored a century each. What kind of rankings do they give?," added Basit.

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Many batters from the Indian team struggled to score in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. On the other hand, India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma delivered extraordinary performances in all three matches put him in the second position on the rankings table with a 765 rating. According to the rankings updated on August 13, this places him behind Babar Azam, who holds the top spot with a rating of 824.