Adil Rashid and Babar Azam on top of ICC’s T20I and ODI rankings

DUBAI (Agencies): England legspinner Adil Rashid has become the No. 1 ranked bowler in T20Is, while Pakistan batter Babar Azam has displaced India opener Shubman Gill at the top of the ICC men’s ODI rankings.

Rashid overtook two other legspinners – Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (No. 2) and India’s Ravi Bishnoi (No. 3) – after taking seven wickets in the first four T20Is of England’s ongoing series in the West Indies.

He is only the second England player to become No. 1 in the ICC men’s T20I rankings for bowlers, after offspinner Graeme Swann more than a decade ago. Rashid’s elevation to the top came a day after he went unsold during the IPL 2024 auction.

India’s Suryakumar Yadav remains the top ranked T20I batter after scoring a fifty and a hundred in the second and third T20Is in South Africa. His lead over Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan in second place is now a 100 ratings points.

In ODIs, Babar has gone past Gill to become the No. 1 batter after Gill was rested from India’s ongoing series in South Africa, though neither batter has played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup ended.

In the Test rankings, Kane Williamson remains No.1 while Usman Khawaja moves up three places to fourth following Australia’s win against Pakistan in Perth, with another opportunity to close the gap during the Boxing Day Test match.

Pat Cummins has moved up a spot to third in the Test bowling rankings, while Nathan Lyon has risen to fifth, Mitchell Starc to eighth, and Josh Hazlewood tenth. India offspinner R Ashwin remains the No. 1 ranked bowler in Tests.