Babar Azam only batsman inside top-five across all formats
Babar Azam has strengthened his status as the world’s most gifted, skilled, and all-rounded batsman by returning to the top-five of the latest ICC Test batting rankings, by virtue of which he has become the only batsman to feature in the top-five across all formats. In the latest ICC rankings, released after the Southampton Test, Babar has leapfrogged Australia’s David Warner into the fifth position and now has New Zealand captain Kane Williamson firmly within his sights. The New Zealander leads Babar by 14 points, with Australia’s third-ranked Marcus Labuschange another 15 points ahead. If Babar produces a strong performance in the final two Test innings on the current England tour, he can potentially achieve his career-high ranking in his young Test career, which is just 28 Tests old. The batting table is headed by Australia’s Steve Smith with India’s Virat Kohli in second place. Joe Root, who makes the ‘fab-five’ along with Smith, Kohli, Williamson, and Babar, is ranked ninth....