Gill pips Babar to reclaim top spot in ODI batting rankings

Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India batsman Shubman Gill leapfrogged former Pakistan captain Babar Azam to claim the No.1 spot on the latest ICC men’s ODI player rankings released on February 19. Gill is sitting on top of the batting chart with 796 rating points. Babar drops to second place and 23 rating points behind the new No.1.
This is the second time Gill has held the No.1 ranking in ODI cricket, with the India batter having also gone past Babar to claim the top spot midway through the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023. Gill has been in excellent form of late, with his century against England in Ahmedabad during the third ODI of the recently concluded series enough to catapult the 25-year-old to the top of the rankings.
Meanwhile, India skipper Rohit Sharma remained in the third spot and 45 rating points behind his fellow Indian opener. South African Heinrich Klaasen (756) and New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell (740) round off the top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Sri Lanka dasher Charith Asalanka (up eight spots to eighth) also makes ground inside the top 10, while Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan climbs six places to 15th with a new career-high rating.
Things are just as tight in the latest bowling rankings, with Sri Lankan off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana gaining the top spot from Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan.
Theekshana earned the top spot following his exploits against Australia, which included an excellent four-wicket haul in the opening match of that series in Colombo. Meanwhile, Afghan spin wizard Rashid dropped to second and will be keen to regain the No. 1 spot as he trails his Sri Lankan counterpart by just 11 rating points.
A trio of spinners in India’s Kuldeep Yadav (up one place to fourth), South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj (re-enters the rankings in sixth) and New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner (up four rungs to seventh) are all inside the top 10 after making ground this week.
Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi maintains a lead at the top of the rankings for ODI all-rounders, with Santner gaining one place inside the top 10 to move up to sixth overall.