Shaheen Afridi celebrates after taking a wicket (L) and Fawad Alam acknowledges the crowd after scoring a century. Photo: AFP
DUBAI: Pakistani cricketers Fawad Alam and Shaheen Afridi have achieved their career-best ICC Test rankings after their strong performances in the recently concluded series against West Indies.
Fawad Alam, who played a heroic 124-run innings during the first Test match, has climbed to the no 21 spot in the ICC Test batsmen rankings. He has moved past his previous career-best, which was number 47.
Alam has come a long way since his return to international cricket last August, scoring four centuries in countries around the world and cementing his place in Pakistan’s Test squad.
Alam’s unbeaten 124 in the first innings has helped him shoot up 34 places to 21st position.
However, Fawad Alam and Shaheen Afridi are not the only two cricketers who have moved up in the Test rankings following Pakistan’s record-making victory over the West Indies.
Skipper Babar Azam’s scores of 75 and 33 have helped him advance one slot to seventh position, two below his career-best fifth position in August last year, while Rizwan is back in the top 20 with scores of 31 and 10 not out, confirmed the ICC.
Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali has managed to secure number 44 position from 48, helped by his three-wicket haul in the second innings.
Pakistan beat West Indies by 109 runs to level series
Shaheen Shah Afridi completed a ten-wicket match haul to bowl Pakistan to a series-levelling 109-run victory over the West Indies in the final session of the second and final Test at Sabina Park on Tuesday.
Frustrated by the loss of an entire day’s play and another session to rain and a sodden outfield over the weekend, Shaheen kept Pakistan’s hopes alive with a devastating first innings effort of six for 51 on day four – his best Test innings performance – and returned on the final day to strike critical blows.