Shaheen Shah Afridi becomes No.1 ODI bowler for the first time after his performance against Bangladesh in 2023 World Cup
Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has climbed to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers for the first time in his career. The left-arm pacer dethroned Josh Hazlewood, who has now dropped to 2nd, followed by Mohammed Siraj and Keshav Maharaj.
Afirid's rise to the summit comes on the back of an outstanding bowling performance against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. The youngster finished with three wickets in his nine-overs pell. He also took a fifer against Australia in Bengaluru and followed it up with 4 victims against the Proteas in Chennai.
With 16 scalps, the 23-year-old is currently tied with Adam Zampa for most wickets in the tournament. On the bowling front, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman and Kuldeep Yadav also made gains, slotting into 7th and 8th place in the standings.
"We are still in the tournament, and we will try to do well" - Shaheen Shah Afridi
After the seven-wicket win over Bangladesh, Afridi admitted that Pakistan have fallen short of consistency in the tournament, but gave themselves an outside chance of reaching the semi-finals. He also believes Haris Rauf is close to returning to his best. As quoted by cricket Pakistan.pk, he claimed:
"We didn't perform well in the last few matches as a team; there were some costly errors. Some catches were dropped, and better fielding could have led to better results. We are still in the tournament, and we will try to do well. Mohammad Wasim bowled really well."
He added:
"Haris Rauf plays an important role in the white-ball team. Bowlers like Lockie Ferguson are also conceding runs, pacy bowlers go for runs here. Haris is working hard, has taken wickets, and we hope he'll improve even more."
Pakistan's last 2 matches are against England and New Zealand. Babar Azam and Co. wil face the Kiwis on November 4th in Bengaluru.