Pakistan star batter Babar Azam slipped to the 9th spot in the latest ICC Test rankings amid a poor run of form in the longest format of the game. Babar, who hasn’t scored a Test century since December 2022, managed scores of 22 and 0 as Pakistan were stunned by Bangladesh in the first Test last week. However, former Pakistan batter Basit Ali feels that Babar slipping to ninth could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the former Pakistan captain, who will be motivated to do well in the series-deciding second Test against Bangladesh.

Similarly, Basit suggested that Babar’s ranking should also go down in the ODIs.

“The biggest news for me is Babar Azam dropping to No. 9 in the ICC rankings. This is very good for Babar Azam. His ranking should go down in the ODIs as well. He is not the No.1 batter in ODIs. Now Babar will be hungry. If he is still not hungry to perform, it will hurt a lot. The ICC announcing the ranking ahead of the second Test could be a blessing in disguise for Babar,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, Basit slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for organising the Champions Cup — a domestc 50-over tournament — after the Test series against Bangladesh.

Basit urged the PCB to take a leaf out of India’s book and organise more red ball tournaments.

“There will be a One-Day tournament called the Champions Cup after the Test series. Pakistan have copied the systems of England, Australia and New Zealand. India is right next to us, please copy their system too. You need intelligence in copying as well. Just copy what India is doing. The Duleep Trophy is about to begin. Is it a T20 or One-Day tournament? It is a four-day tournament. They are focused on making their base stronger, which is why they are so successful,” he added.

The disappointing loss against Bangladesh in the first Test match has sparked massive criticism for the Pakistan cricket team. It was the first time that Pakistan were defeated by Bangladesh in Test cricket and their performance has left both fans and experts fuming. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take ideas from India when it comes to hosting more red ball tournaments in order to create a bigger pool of players. He expressed his displeasure at PCB organising a One-Day tournament after the Bangladesh Tests and said that more focus should be on red-ball cricket as Pakistan lack a strong pool of cricketers when it comes to the format.

Basit went on to say that Pakistan have copied systems from England, Australia and New Zealand in the past but right now, they should look at India and try to mimic their domestic system.

“There will be a One-Day tournament called the Champions Cup after the Test series. Pakistan have copied the systems of England, Australia, and New Zealand. India is right next to us, please copy their system too. You need intelligence in copying as well. Just copy what India is doing. The Duleep Trophy is about to begin. Is it a T20 or One-Day tournament? It is a four-day tournament. They are focused on making their base stronger, which is why they are so successful,” he said on YouTube.

Abrar Ahmed and Kamran Ghulam, who were previously released from the Pakistan Test squad against Bangladesh, have been recalled to join the team for the second Test scheduled to be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from August 30 to September 3.

Both players had been contributing in a four-day match for Pakistan Shaheens against Bangladesh ‘A’ at the Islamabad Club, which took place from August 20 to 23.

Abrar, a leg-spinner known for his exceptional control and ability to extract turn on subcontinent pitches, is expected to provide Pakistan with additional spin options. Kamran, a middle-order batsman, brings depth and stability to the batting lineup.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan’s spearhead fast bowler, has also rejoined the squad after being released at the conclusion of the first Test.

(With IANS inputs)

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has always been considered as a captaincy option for the Indian cricket team and recently, he has also expressed his desire to lead the side. In a recent interaction, Bumrah said that it is high time that bowlers are looked at as captaincy choices and even called them the ‘smart ones’. During the conversation, he also cited the examples of legends like Imran Khan and Kapil Dev who went on to win the World Cup. However, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes that Bumrah should not chase captaincy and instead, work towards becoming an all-round player. He pointed out that both Imran and Kapil were celebrated all-rounders of their time and that is different from Bumrah.

“About Jasprit Bumrah’s statement, it’s just like how Babar Azam likes captaincy. In my opinion, he should not chase captaincy. He is a top-class bowler and should be focussing just on that. He gave the examples of Kapil Dev and Imran Khan’s captaincy. However, they had become all-rounders, which is why they succeeded as captains. They were not appointed captains when they came into their teams as bowlers. This is the difference between a bowler and an all-rounder,” Basit said on his YouTube Channel.

Bumrah has already led Indian cricket team in a Test match against England in 2022. However, things did not go to plan as India were defeat in the encounter. Basit added that there is a good chance that Bumrah can end up becoming the India captain after the Champions Trophy 2025. However, he once again said that very few fast bowlers have made great captains or coaches in international cricket.

“He also spoke about Pat Cummins. Yes, Cummins is a good captain, but there are very few fast bowlers who can become a good coach or captain. My best wishes to Jasprit Bumrah. There is a chance that he could be made the captain after the Champions Trophy,” the former Pakistan cricketer added.

It has been a topsy turvy year for Ishan Kishan. The wicket-keeper batter was left out of the BCCI central contracts and it looked like there is no way back to the Indian cricket team for the youngster. However, with Kishan getting included in the Duleep Trophy squad, it looks like the BCCI is willing to give him another chance to stake his claim for a spot in the national side. Kishan was quite impressive in the Buchi Babu tournament with a sensational century in the first match for Jharkhand. Ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh, former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali said that Kishan should not be optimistic about his chances of making a comeback in the national side and should rather concentrate on IPL.

“Ishan Kishan needs to focus on the IPL now because he doesn’t have a chance of returning to the Indian team till the Australia series. In fact, there’s no chance till the Champions Trophy. Let’s see what happens after that,” Basit Ali said on his YouTube channel.

Basit Ali also said that India will miss Cheteshwar Pujara when they take on Australia in a five-match series in November. The former Pakistan star explained that even if India manage to win the series, Pujara will be someone that they will miss considering his form and performances in the past.

“Be it 5-0, 4-1, 3-2, or 2-2, India will miss Cheteshwar Pujara. He is that player who can tire the bowlers and create a chance for the other batter at the other end to score runs,” he added.

Pujara played a major role for India during the 2021-22 Test series triumph in Australia where he ended as the second highest run scorer in the series. However, he lost his spot in the team due to low scores in the next few matches.

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali took a dig at the International Cricket Council (ICC) after star batter Babar Azam retained his place at the top of the ODI rankings. Despite not playing an ODI since November 2023, Babar kept his place at the top, followed by three Indian stars — Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli. Sharing his views on the latest ICC rankings, Basit suggested ICC doesn’t want Babar to perform and has thus kept him at the top.

Basit also questioned the logic behind the ranking system, highlighting the absence of star batters like Travis Head (Australia) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand).

“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.

“Babar’s last ODI was at the last year’s World Cup. We saw the likes of Rachin Ravindra, Quinton de Kock, Travis Head and Virat 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 ranking do they give,” he added.

Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma make a big jump in rankings, climbing up to the second spot after firing with the bat in the three-game ODI series against Sri Lanka.

In a series where not many batters were able to find their footing, Rohit ended as the top scorer of the series with 157 runs to his name with an average of 52.33 and a strike-rate of 141.44 with two half-centuries.

(With ANI Inputs)

Former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali believes that India and Pakistan should play bilateral series of hockey, javelin or kabaddi if BCCI and PCB fail to agree on a cricket series. India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral cricket for more than a decade due to political tensions. As a result, questions remain over whether India will be travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. During an interaction on YouTube, Basit said that the whole world is in front of the television when Neeraj and Arshad compete in javelin. He added that if they compete in a javelin series, it will be bigger than the India-Australia series.

“Arshad Nadeem beat Neeraj Chopra at the Paris Olympics; otherwise, it was a certain gold medal for India. The Indian cricket team has made it clear that they won’t travel to Pakistan, so just conduct a bilateral series of hockey, javelin, or kabaddi between India and Pakistan in some other country, and you will know whether the India-Australia series is bigger or the India-Pakistan match is bigger,” Basit said.

“When Neeraj and Arshad compete in javelin, the whole world will be in front of the television, and the stadium will be full,” the former Pakistan cricketer added.

Earlier, former India coach Ravi Shastri backed the Rohit Sharma-led side to comfortably clinch the Test series against Australia. Basit said that the comments made by the Indian and Australian experts are targeted at creating a buzz around the series. He also pointed out that although there is interest in other series, they cannot compete with the popularity of an India vs Pakistan encounter.

“I think they are trying to create hype. The whole world knows that India vs Pakistan is on one side and everything else is on the other side. Even Ashes isn’t that big. So, you are going to hear such statements now,” he said.