Former cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq has pointed out that Pakistan’s rise to thetop spot in ODIs earlier this year was achieved by defeating weakenedAustralian and New Zealand teams.
The victory against Australia came in a 2-1 ODI series in 2022, and inApril, Pakistan dominated a five-match ODI series against New Zealand witha 4-0 lead, leading to their ascent to the number one position in the ODIteam rankings.
This marked the first time since the ICC officially recognized rankings inJanuary 2005. Misbah remarked on a local sports channel, “New Zealand andAustralia visited Pakistan, but their top-ranked teams were absent.Instead, their C and D teams competed against us, and we managed to securevictories against them, thus boosting our rating points.
Subsequently, we faced West Indies and other teams, winning against them aswell. While achieving the No. 1 ranking brought us joy, it’s essential toconsider the actual circumstances.”
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He went on to say, “Australia’s C team even managed to win a match againstus, and New Zealand’s D team played as most of their main players wereparticipating in the IPL. We must realistically assess our position becauseour primary squad was playing against their third-tier players, yet theycame close to us. Ultimately, rankings don’t hold significant importance.”
