Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: 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 MRF Tyres 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.
Meanwhile, Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi slipped four places from No.1 spot in ODI bowling rankings.
Indian bowler Siraj improved 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.
