Babar Azam’s reign as the No.1 ODI batter in the world is over, with India young gun Shubman Gill claiming top spot from the Pakistan captain on the latest ICC Men’s Batting Rankings.
Gill rises to the top to displace Babar on the back of his solid start to India’s campaign at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and in the process becomes just the fourth player from his country behind Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to hold the No.1 ODI batter ranking.
The right-hander has contributed scores of 92 against Sri Lanka and 23 against South Africa over the last week, and amassed a total of 219 runs from six innings at the tournament.
Babar has totalled 282 runs from eight knocks at the World Cup and drops six rating points below Gill into second place as his reign of more than two years as the No.1 ranked ODI batter in the world comes to an end.
The rise of Gill to the top and the big jump of former captain Kohli to fourth on the latest ODI batter rankings comes on a massive day for India, who also had fast bowler Mohammed Siraj climb to the top of the list for ODI bowlers on the back of his 10 wickets at the World Cup.
There is a major shake-up inside the top 10 of both batting and bowling ODI lists due to good performances at the World Cup and it comes as no surprise that it is India’s bevy of stars that have made the biggest impression.
Gill rises to the top for the first time in his short but impressive career, while Kohli jumps three places to fourth – and within one rating point of third-placed South African Quinton de Kock – courtesy of his 543 runs at the World Cup.
Shreyas Iyer also jumps an impressive 17 places to 18th overall on the list for ODI batters, with Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman (up three spots to 11th) and Afghanistan counterpart Ibrahim Zadran (up six spots to 12th) making good ground.
The top of the ODI bowler rankings appears completely different to what it looked like at the start of the World Cup, with four players from India inside the top 10 on the back of their sensational unbeaten start to the 50-over showcase event.
Siraj improves two spots to regain his crown as the No.1 ranked ODI bowler, while teammates Kuldeep Yadav (up three places to fourth), Jasprit Bumrah (up three spots to eighth) and Mohammed Shami (up seven places to 10th) are all nestled within the top 10.
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj (up two spots to second) and Australia counterpart Adam Zampa (up six places to third) are other big movers inside the top 10, while last week’s No.1 ranked ODI bowler Shaheen Afridi drops four places to equal fifth alongside fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood.
The leading wicket-taker at the World Cup – Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka – jumps 31 places to 45th on the list for ODI bowlers, while India spinner Ravindra Jadeja (up eight places to 19th) and South Africa left-armer Marco Jansen (up nine spots to equal 24th) are other big movers.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan remains the No.1 ranked all-rounder despite an early exit at the World Cup due to injury, with Australia veteran Glenn Maxwell improving two spots to sixth after his match-winning heroics against Afghanistan in Mumbai on Tuesday.—AFP
