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.