Rohit Sharma closes in on top spot in latest ICC Men's ODI batting Rankings
Team India skipper Rohit Sharma closed in on the top spot of the latest ICC Men's ODI batter rankings. Coming off back-to-back half-centuries in the first two ODIs of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka, Rohit overtook teammate Virat Kohli to be positioned at No.3.
With 763 points, the 37-year-old is only 19 points behind second-placed Shubman Gill and 61 behind top-ranked Babar Azam. Rohit is the leading run-scorer in the India-Sri Lanka ODI series after two games with 122 runs at an average of 61 and a striker rate of 134.06.
Meanwhile, Kohli's drop down by a position to fourth stems from his surprising back-to-back low scores of 24 and 14.
From a Sri Lankan perspective, Janith Liyanage and Avishka Fernando jumped 10 and nine spots to 76th and 87th on the ODI batting rankings, respectively.
The two teams will play each other in the series finale with Sri Lanka holding a 1-0 lead in Colombo on August 7.
Indian and Sri Lankan players rewarded in ODI bowling rankings
Batting aside, several players from India and Sri Lanka were also rewarded in the latest ODI bowling and all-rounder rankings. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav jumped up five places to move to No.4 on the bowling rankings where South Africa's Keshav Maharaj holds on to his top spot.
Kuldeep's spin-bowling partner Axar Patel made a giant leap by 37 spots to enter the top 100 in the ODI bowling rankings at 96th. The left-arm spinners' parade continued with Sri Lanka's Dunith Wellalage moving five spots up to 76th.
Kuldeep and Axar have picked up three wickets each in the first two ODIs with excellent economy rates of 3.30 and 3.73, respectively. Meanwhile, Wellalage has bagged two wickets in the first two ODIs, playing a crucial role in Sri Lanka securing a tie in the first game.
Off-spinner Washington Sundar also jumped 45 places to sit at the final position in the top 100 among ODI bowlers. Sri Lankan leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay's six wicket-haul in the second ODI saw him rise by 64 positions to 105 on the bowler rankings.
While Sundar has 4 wickets in the two ODIs at an economy of four, Vandersay produced incredible figures of 6/33 in Sri Lanka's stunning 32-run victory in the second ODI.