Former cricketer Abdul Razzaq strongly believes that Pakistan’s national cricket team will soon propel to the top half of the ICC team rankings in every format of the game. The former all-rounder made his statement following a good run of form maintained by the Babar Azam-led side this year.
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In the recently-concluded South Africa tour, Pakistan pocketed the 3-match ODI series 2-1 and also clinched the 4-match T20I rubber 3-1. The team is currently touring Zimbabwe where they have continued their winning streak so far. They have won the 3-match T20I series 2-1 and are on the verge of winning the 2-match Test rubber 2-0. They defeated the hosts by an innings and 116 runs in the opening Test match in Harare.
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Following Pakistan’s back-to-back wins, Razzaq stated that soon they will reach the ‘first or second position’ in all formats. During a conversation with PakPassion, Razzaq highlighted that a few international teams are currently in a transition phase while Pakistan can emerge as one of the powerhouses of the game.
"We only have to look at the likes of South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, and England who are now in the middle of a similar rebuilding phase as us. We saw how South Africa are faring of late, so thankfully Pakistan is not at that stage and I am very happy that our batting, bowling and fielding has shown a marked improvement," Razzaq was quoted as saying by PakPassion.
{{/usCountry}}"We only have to look at the likes of South Africa, Australia, Sri Lanka, and England who are now in the middle of a similar rebuilding phase as us. We saw how South Africa are faring of late, so thankfully Pakistan is not at that stage and I am very happy that our batting, bowling and fielding has shown a marked improvement," Razzaq was quoted as saying by PakPassion.
{{/usCountry}}“To me, the secret to reaching the first or second position in ICC’s rankings in all formats is to improve in all three facets, in much the same way as Australia was dominating all other teams about 20 years ago. I am hopeful that the way things are going, Pakistan will reach the first or second position in all formats very soon,” he added.
In the current ICC rankings, Pakistan stand sixth in ODIs, fourth in T20Is and fifth in Tests. India is currently the No.1 Test team, while New Zealand and England are leading the tables in ODIs and T20Is respectively.