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In the latest ICC men’s batting rankings unveiled on Wednesday, Shubman Gill, the opening batsman from India, has dethroned Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan, to claim the coveted title of the world’s top-ranked men’s ODI batter.
Gill’s achievement marks him as only the fourth Indian player to reach this pinnacle, following in the footsteps of cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli. This triumph places India at the zenith of men’s ODI rankings, with Mohammed Siraj concurrently holding the top spot in bowling rankings.
After battling dengue and missing the initial two matches of the ODI World Cup, Shubman Gill displayed his mettle by accumulating 219 runs from six innings. His recent performances include a notable 92 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai and a commendable 23 against South Africa in Kolkata.
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In contrast, Babar Azam, who had held the top position for over two years, experienced a decline in his ratings, falling six points below Gill to secure the second spot. Virat Kohli, the iconic batsman, leaped three places to occupy the fourth position, narrowing the gap to the third-placed South African opener, Quinton de Kock, who has tallied 543 runs in the World Cup.
Also Read: Cricket’s Enigma: Examining the Divergence Between ICC Rankings and World Cup Performance
The rankings also witnessed substantial advancements, as middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer ascended by a remarkable 17 places to secure the 18th position. Furthermore, Pakistan’s opener Fakhar Zaman climbed three spots to the 11th position, and Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran made a noteworthy progress of six places to reach the 12th spot in the ODI batting rankings.
The ODI bowling rankings displayed commendable shifts, with Kuldeep Yadav elevating by three places to the fourth position, Jasprit Bumrah making a three-spot jump to the eighth position, and Mohammed Shami advancing by seven places to secure the 10th position, joining forces with Mohammed Siraj in the top ten rankings.
In this domain, South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj moved up by two places to claim the second position, while Australia’s Adam Zampa surged six places to occupy the third spot. Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi fell four places but managed to retain a joint fifth position alongside Australia’s Josh Hazlewood.
In a remarkable turn of events, Sri Lanka’s pacer Dilshan Madushanka, the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup, soared by 31 places to claim the 45th position. Additionally, India’s spinner Ravindra Jadeja climbed eight places to secure the 19th position, while South Africa’s left-armer Marco Jansen made a notable ascent of nine spots to jointly hold the 24th position in the ODI bowling rankings.
Despite an unfortunate injury sidelining Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan in the World Cup, he continues to reign as the top-ranked all-rounder. In a similar vein, Australia’s all-rounder Glenn Maxwell advanced by two positions to attain the sixth spot after his extraordinary match-winning performance, scoring an astonishing 201 not out against Afghanistan in Mumbai.