Shubman Gill ends Babar Azam's reign as No.1 ODI ranked batter; Mohammed Siraj rises to No.1 spot among bowlers
Team India opening batter Shubman Gill is the new top-ranked batter in ODI cricket, ending Pakistan skipper Babar Azam's reign that lasted over two years.
Gill is slowly finding his rhythm in the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup campaign after missing out on the opening set of matches due to a bout of dengue. The opening batter narrowly missed out on a hundred in Team India's crushing win over Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He has scored 219 runs in six matches at an average of 36.50.
His recent set of scores has increased his ICC ODI ranking rating to 830, which is six more than the now-second placed Babar Azam. The Pakistan skipper has had an on-and-off tournament so far, but has been among the runs in the team's recent matches, with three fifties across his last four innings.
Shubman Gill becomes only the fourth Indian batter after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni to be ranked as the number one ranked ODI batter.
Team India's ongoing unbeaten run in the ODI World Cup has also led to other players rising in the latest rankings. Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, who has chipped in with fifties in Team India's recent wins over Sri Lanka and South Africa jumps to the 18th spot, from the 35th place in the rankings.
The Men in Blue completely dominate the bowling rankings, with Mohammed Siraj claiming the No.1 spot from Australia's Josh Hazlewood, with a rating of 709. The Indian right-arm pacer did not have the best of starts to the World Cup, but was at his best against Sri Lanka.
Apart from Siraj, the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami find themselves among the top ten ranked ODI bowlers.
Shubman Gill was on Babar Azam's tail for quite a while
Ever since sealing the opening spot in the Indian ODI team, Shubman Gill has not turned back. The youngster has had a memorable 2023, scoring a ODI double hundred, winning the IPL Orange Cap and could add the ODI World Cup to the list as well.
However, he had to wait for the elusive No.1 ranking, with Babar Azam not giving any room. The ace batter was among the runs in the home ODI series against New Zealand, the bilateral series against Afghanistan as well as the 2023 Asia Cup.
Team India still have atleast two more matches to play in the ongoing World Cup, as well as three more ODIs against South Africa to close out the year, giving Shubman Gill an excellent opportunity to script history. He has already scored 1449 runs in 26 innings at an average of 63.
How long can Shubman Gill hold on to the No.1 ODI batter ranking? Let us know what you think.