India’s Shubman dethrones Pakistan’s team captain Babar to become top ODI batter

Indian opener Shubman Gill has replaced Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam as the new top-ranked men’s One-Day International (ODI) batter in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) men's batting rankings released on Wednesday.

He has now become just the fourth player from India after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to hold the top-spot in the ODI batter rankings. India now have top-ranked players in men’s ODI batting and bowling rankings in the form of Gill and Mohammed Siraj.

After missing first two matches of the World Cup due to dengue, Gill has amassed 219 runs from six innings, with his recent scores being 92 against Sri Lanka at Mumbai and 23 against South Africa at Kolkata.

Babar has amassed 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 top-ranked men’s ODI batter in the world comes to an end.

Talismanic batter Virat Kohli, who recently equalled Sachin Tendulkar for most number of men’s ODI centuries in Kolkata, jumps three places to fourth place and is within one rating point of third-placed South Africa opener Quinton de Kock, who has made 543 runs at the World Cup so far.

Middle-order batter 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) also making progress.

In the ODI bowling rankings, Kuldeep Yadav (up three places to fourth), Jasprit Bumrah (up three spots to eighth) and Mohammed Shami (up seven places to 10th) are joining Siraj in top ten rankings.

South Africa left-arm 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 Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi drops four places to equal fifth alongside fellow seamer, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood.

Sri Lanka pacer Dilshan Madushanka, the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup , jumps 31 places to 45th position, 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 in ODI bowling rankings.

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan remains the top-ranked all-rounder despite his World Cup ending due to injury, with Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell improving two spots to sixth after his match-winning heroics of an astonishing 201 not out against Afghanistan in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Indo-Asian News Service