Pakistani skipper Babar Azam has officially dethroned Indian skipper Virat Kohli to become the world’s top ODI batsman as per the latest rankings released by ICC.
Babar Azam is now at the top spot with 865 points while Virat Kohli has dropped to the second spot with 857 points. Pakistan captain has ended the three-year reign of Virat Kohli at the top spot in the ICC rankings.
Azam achieved the feat after scoring 228 runs in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against South Africa that Pakistan won with 2-1.
This is the first time Babar Azam has been declared the top ODI batsman in the world, before him former cricketer Muhammad Yousaf had the honor in 2003. Overall he is the fourth Pakistani batsman to achieve the feat after Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf.
Babar Azam 🔝🔥
The Pakistan captain has overtaken Virat Kohli to become the No.1 batsman in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC men's ODI rankings 👑 pic.twitter.com/krxoKRDsSY
— ICC (@ICC) April 14, 2021
Since last week, fans had been anxiously waiting for the ICC’s ranking as they were hopeful that the skipper of Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, would topple Indian skipper Virat Kohli from the top ICC ODI rankings.
Fans ran social media trends celebrating the feat of Babar Azam that he achieved in the last ODI match against South Africa.
Read more: Babar Azam becomes world’s fastest batsman to score 13 centuries
Fans rooting for Babar Azam
Babar Azam had scored 94 runs and which led to the fans believing that he had toppled Virat Kohli in the list of ICC ODI ranking as he was five points behind Virat Kohli. He only needed 70 more runs to secure the top position. Fans believe Babar Azam has passed the hurdle.
According to the sports journalist, Mazhar Arshad, Babar Azam had briefly jumped to the first spot after scoring his 13th century in the first ODI but dropped to the second spot again after the second ODI.
Now fans are anxiously waiting for the release of the new ICC ranking hoping that Babar Azam has secured first place in the list.
April marks the month of tremendous achievements for the Pakistan cricket team and players.
Last week, Babar Azam become the world’s quickest batsman to score 13 centuries. He achieved a feat in the 76th innings in an ODI against South Africa.
The previous batsman to reach the hallmark was former South African player, Hashim Amla, who scored 13 centuries in the 83rd innings. Meanwhile, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and South African players Quinton De Cock took 86 innings to score 13 centuries.
In the first ODI match against South Africa, Babar Azam scored 103 of 104 balls leading Pakistan to victory against the hosts.
Read more: Has Babar Azam finally toppled Virat Kohli from the top ICC ranking?
Meanwhile, Muhammad Hafeez became the second Pakistani batsman to play 100th T20I for Pakistan.
Pakistan cricket team also grabbed the second spot in the ICC World Cup Super League points table after winning the match against South Africa. Batsman Fakhar Zaman has also ascended seven spots in the ICC rankings following match-winning performances against South Africa.