Pakistan’s Babar dethroned by India’s Shubnam as number one ODI batsman

Staff Report

LAHORE: After more than two years, Babar Azam’s reign as the number one One Day International batter has ended as India’s Shubman Gill dethroned the Pakistani skipper in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Batting Rankings. Gill rose to the top spot after providing solid start to India’s campaign at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. With the rise he has become the fourth player from India after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to hold the top spot.  The ICC rankings are updated weekly every Wednesday.  Currently, Gill sits at the top with 830 points, while Babar is on second with 824 points.  Apart from Gill, India’s Virat Kohli has also made major a move by securing the fourth spot on the rankings.   Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman has also jumped to the 11th position in the rankings following his stellar performance against New Zealand.  A major shake-up was also seen in the bowling rankings.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, who had been ranked as the number-one bowler last week, has been dethroned by India’s Mohammed Siraj. The Pakistani southpaw is now sitting jointly with Australia’s Josh Hazlewood on the number five position behind India’s Kuldeep Yadav, Australia’s Adam Zampa and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj.   In the all-rounder rankings, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan remains No 1 despite being forced out of the World Cup due to an injury. However, Australia’s Glenn Maxwell improved two spots to sit at sixth after his match-winning heroics against Afghanistan in Mumbai a day earlier.