India’s young opener Shubman Gill has ended Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s more than two-year reign as the world’s No.1 ODI batter by capturing the top spot on the latest ICC batting rankings, revealed on Wednesday. Gill surpassed Babar after having a strong start to India’s World Cup 2023 campaign, becoming only the fourth player from his country to hold the No.1 ODI batter’s position, joining Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli.
The right-hander, who has been on Babar’s tail for quite some time, has scored 92 against Sri Lanka and 23 against South Africa in the last week, totaling 219 runs from six innings at the tournament. Babar, on the other hand, has scored 282 runs in eight World Cup innings. The Pakistani veteran has fallen six rating points below Gill into second position. Gill has a rating point of 830, followed by Babar (824) and Quinton de Kock of South Africa (771).
The ascent of Gill was not the only positive news for India. Indian stalwart Kohli broke into the top five following his outstanding performance in the World Cup. Kohli surged three places to fourth and inside one rating point of third-placed de Kock, thanks to his 543 World Cup runs. Mohammed Siraj rose two ranks to reclaim his No.1 ODI ranking after picking up 10 wickets in the ongoing World Cup event.
Siraj’s teammates Kuldeep Yadav jumped three spots to reach fourth, Jasprit Bumrah earned the eighth position, and Mohammed Shami (up seven spots to tenth) all remained in the top ten on the back of their sensational unbeaten run in the ICC event.
