Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq had recently expressed his views on Pakistan’s rise to the No. 1 ranking in ODIs earlier this year. He asserted that the achievement was influenced by victories against weaker Australian and New Zealand teams. During a discussion on A Sports, Misbah emphasized the importance of considering the actual facts behind the rankings.
Misbah stated, “Australia and New Zealand visited Pakistan. They were then the top teams. But their C and D teams showed up. Our rating grew as a result of our victory over them. When the West Indies and other teams arrived, we also won against them. The fact that we came first made us delighted, but we should not have lost sight of the truth.”
“Even Australia’s C team defeated us in one game. As all of New Zealand’s key players had left for the IPL, their D team then arrived. Our main team was competing but they came so close to us that we need to be honest about where we stand. The rankings don’t matter,” he added.
Pakistan secured the top spot in the ODI rankings in May of this year after defeating New Zealand by 102 runs in an ODI in Karachi. Misbah expressed his skepticism, describing the rise to the No. 1 spot as “rather hollow.” He questioned the significance of the achievement when facing teams with weakened line-ups.
Despite their triumph against Australia (2-1) in a 2022 ODI series and a convincing 4-1 victory over New Zealand earlier in the year, Misbah’s comments shed light on the debate surrounding the legitimacy of rankings.