Pakistani left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi improved his ICC ODI rankings after the latest update on Wednesday.
Shaheen had a stellar ICC World Cup 2023 where he took 18 wickets in nine innings which included one five-for as the left-arm pacer was Pakistan’s best performer with the ball in the mega event.
Shaheen, previously ranked number 10th, improved his ranking by one rank and is now in the ninth position in the ICC ODI Bowling rankings.
South Africa’s left-arm off-spinner Keshav Maharaj stayed on top of the bowling rankings courtesy of an impressive display with the ball in the World Cup where he took 15 wickets with 4.15 economy.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan were the other two bowlers to improve their rankings by one rank.
On the other hand, in batting rankings, India’s Shubman Gill maintained his top position but the difference between him and Pakistan’s Babar Azam is just two ratings.
“Gill (826 rating points) holds on to a narrow lead at the top of the batter rankings and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (824) remains second, but Kohli (791) and India skipper Rohit Sharma (up one spot to fourth with 769 rating points) are now within striking distance after some strong performances during the World Cup,” the ICC said in a statement.
“Kohli famously held the No.1 ranking for a total of 1258 consecutive days during a reign of almost four years between 2017 and 2021, with Babar spending the majority of time in the premier position in recent years until Gill claimed top billing during the World Cup.
“The rise of the India duo means South Africa opener Quinton de Kock drops two spots to fifth on the ODI batter rankings, with New Zealand right-hander Daryl Mitchell rising five spots to sixth on the back of his 552 runs at the World Cup.”
