Updated: The all-time Pakistan Test XI, based on the ICC rankings

We followed a few rules to make our selections and to pick out a balanced side. The five highest-ranked batters until September 2021 made the cut along with the highest-ranked wicketkeeper. We also picked the top-ranked all-rounder along with the four highest-ranked bowlers, of whom we ensured we had at least one spinner.

This is the XI we ended with.

However, the emergence of Babar Azam and the brilliant run of form that he is in has prompted a change in the all-time rankings. One of the finest all-format batters in contemporary cricket, Babar has been exceptional in the Test circuit in the last few months.

The Pakistan captain has played 42 Test matches, scoring 3,122 runs at an average of 47.30. The number increases to 63.53 in the last year, a period in which he has amassed 953 runs in nine Tests with two hundreds and seven fifties.

His purple patch has not only taken him to the top of the ICC Men’s Test Batting rankings but has also taken him into the top 50 in all-time ICC rankings. With 879 rating points after the Test series against Sri Lanka, he is currently at 49th place, forcing a change in the all-time Pakistan Test XI list.

He replaces Misbah-ul-Haq in the XI. Misbah is currently 78th on the all-time list, with a peak batting rating of 842. Javed Miandad, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan continue to make the side. Hanif Mohammad, who currently ranks 92nd on the all-time list, makes the XI as the top-ranked wicketkeeper.

There are no other changes in the all-time list for Pakistan.

Updated Pakistan all-time Test XI, based on ICC rankings:

Hanif Mohammad (wk)
Javed Miandad
Younis Khan
Babar Azam
Mohammad Yousuf
Inzamam-ul-Haq
Imran Khan
Fazal Mahmood
Waqar Younis
Yasir Shah
Shoaib Akhtar