Babar Azam retains top ODI ranking despite Shubman Gill’s threat

DUBAI: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam retained his position at the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI Batting Rankings, while Indian batter Shubman Gill further closed the gap.

Babar Azam will enter the ICC World Cup 2023 as the number-one ODI batter after Shubman Gill rested for India’s final clash of their ODI series against Australia.

However, both the batters will battle for the top spot throughout the World Cup as Gill (847) is just 10 rating points behind Azam (857), while third-ranked Rassie van der Dussen is way behind with 743 points.

Shubman Gill continued his brilliant form in the first two matches of the ODI series against Australia, amassing a total of 178 runs for the series during the opening two contests. Prior to that, he topped the runs chart in the Asia Cup 2023 with 302 runs in six matches at 75.50.

Meanwhile, Indian fast bowler Mohammad Siraj maintains a narrow lead at the top of the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings with 680 rating points over Australian Josh Hazlewood (669), followed by Afghanistan’s spin bowling duo Mujeeb Ur Rahman (657) and Rashid Khan (655).

Mohammad Siraj rocketed to the summit of bowler’s rankings after he wreaked havoc on Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup with figures of 6-21. He was the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 10 wickets, behind Matheesha Pathirana’s tally of 11 wickets.

India’s Mohammed Shami has improved his position by nine spots and is now ranked joint 25th with Jofra Archer. Similarly, Australian seamer Sean Abbott has moved up by 14 places and is now joint 45th in the rankings.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman jumped five spots and is currently at 23rd after bagging five wickets in the ODI series against New Zealand.

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