Pakistan are all set to take on the hosts Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series starting from Friday. Ahead of this series, Pakistan captain Babar Azam said they are looking forward to continuing their T20 World Cup momentum and forgetting the semifinal defeat to Australia. Under Babar’s captaincy, Pakistan won five matches in a row in the Super 12s stage of the World Cup but stumbled against Australia in the semifinal. Despite that defeat, Pakistan gained much appreciation from the cricketing world. “It certainly was a big disappointment to lose a game in the World Cup,” Babar told on Thursday in the pre-series press conference. “The whole team got hurt. But we are confident of rectifying our mistakes and going forward. We have faith among us.” Also read: Bangladesh v Pakistan: Young Tigers look to restore pride lost in World Cup Bangladesh are going to miss the services of Mushfiqur Rahim in this series. Shakib Al Hasan is also out of action due to an injury. Despite their absence, according to Babar, Bangladesh cannot be taken easily. “They are seasoned campaigners, and they play BPL so we cannot beat them easily,” Babar added. “We don’t want to lose the momentum that we got in the World Cup. We also have Test matches in this series. So we should not take them lightly.” While the first match of the series is on Friday, the second match will be played on Saturday, and the third and final match is scheduled for November 22 (Monday). All of these matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Also read: Is Mahmudullah unaware of Mushfiqur’s omission? The first Test of the series will take place at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from November 26, and the second Test will be played in Dhaka from December 4.

Babar Azam, Trent Boult, and Shakib Al Hasan have topped the ICC ODI rankings in the batting, bowling, and all-rounder categories, respectively. Pakistan captain has been in excellent form in recent years but has been unable to dethrone Virat Kohli from the top spot. Finally, Babar has climbed to the top of the ICC rankings. In bowling, Bolt is now one of the top bowlers in the world, so him being number one is completely justified. Meanwhile, Shakib has reclaimed his no.1 spot immediately after returning to international cricket. ICC player rankings in May 2021 across all formats are discussed in this article. Latest ODI Ranking for the players Babar Azam of Pakistan tops the ODI batting rankings with 865 points, followed by Virat Kohli (857) and Rohit Sharma (825). New Zealand's Ross Taylor (801) and Australia's Aaron Finch (802) complete the list of top five in batting rankings. Mushfiqur Rahim has the highest batting ranking among Bangladeshis, his position is 18th. Besides, Tamim Iqbal is at 23rd position and Shakib Al Hasan is at 26th position. In bowling, Kiwi pacer Trent Boult is at the top with 737 points, followed by Afghanistan's Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, New Zealand's Matt Henry, India's Jasprit Bumrah, and Bangladesh's Mehedi Hasan. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is in 16th position, while cutter-master Mustafizur Rahman is at 18th spot. Shakib Al Hasan tops the all-rounder category with 408 points, followed by England's Ben Stokes, Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi, England's Chris Oakes, and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan. Besides, Bangladesh's Mehedi Hasan is ranked 20th. Also Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Five Memorable match-winning ODI performances Updated Test Ranking for the players New Zealand captain Kane Willaimson tops the Test batting rankings with 919 points, followed by two Australians Steve Smith (891) and Marnus Labuschagne (878). England's Joe Root (831) and India's Virat Kohli (814) complete the list of top five in batting rankings. Mushfiqur Rahim has the highest batting ranking among Bangladeshi, his position is 21st. Besides, Tamim Iqbal is in the 26th position and Mominul Haque is in the 30th position. In bowling, Aussie pacer Pat Cummins is at the top with 908 points, followed by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (850), New Zealand’s Neil Wagner (825), England’s James Anderson (822), and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood (816). Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Taijul Islam has the highest bowling rankings among the Bangladesh player, his position is 25th. While Shakib Al Hasan is ranked 27th and Mehedi Hasan is at 30th spot. The Windies captain Jason Holder tops the all-rounder category with 423 points, followed by England's Ben Stokes (393), India’s Ravindra Jadeja (386), India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (353) and Shakib Al Hasan (338). Besides, Bangladesh's Mehedi Hasan is ranked 14th. Read Batsmen shine in practice game ahead of Sri Lanka ODIs Latest T20I Ranking for the players England’s Dawid Malan tops the T20I batting rankings with 892 points, followed by Aaron Finch (830), Babar Azam (828). New Zealand’s Devon Conway (774) and Virat Kohli (762) complete the list of top five in batting rankings. Young top-order batsman Mohammad Naim has the highest batting ranking among the Bangladesh cricketers, his position is 28th. Besides, Litton Das is in the 29th position and Mahmudullah is in the 31st position. In bowling, Proteas bowler Tabraiz Shamsi is at the top with 732 points, followed by Afghanistan's Rashid Khan, Australia’s Ashton Agar, England’s Adil Rashid, Afghanistan’s Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman. Meanwhile, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is in 23rd position, while left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is at 41st position. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi tops the all-rounder category with 285 points, followed by Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, Australia’s Glen Maxwell, Scottish sensation Richard Berrington, and Ireland’s Gareth Delany. Besides, Bangladesh's T20 captain Mahmudullah Riyad is ranked 12th. Read Shanto omitted as BCB announces squad for Sri Lanka ODIs Bottom Line Bangladeshi players have a mediocre position in the ICC player rankings as of May 2021. Bangladesh cricketers are always lagging behind in the world rankings due to a lack of consistency. This scenario will improve if we are able to consistently compete at an international level. On the other hand, cricketers like Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, Kane Williamson, and Pat Cummins are among the top in the ICC rankings across all formats.

Bangladesh continued to struggle – now with bowling - in the first Test of the two-match series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi as Shan Masood and Babar Azam hit centuries for the hosts on Saturday.