In the ICC ODI batters’ rankings released on Wednesday, New Zealander Daryl Mitchell overtook former India captain Rohit Sharma, who had briefly held the top spot.
Mitchell’s outstanding century against the West Indies made him the second New Zealander to hold the top rank among ODI batters.
He smashed his seventh ODI century in the series opener against the West Indies, and that knock was enough for the in-form right-hander to leapfrog Rohit and claim the top spot for the first time in his career.
Mitchell now has 782 rating points, one more than Rohit, who held the top spot for about three weeks. Mitchell is only the second player from New Zealand to be ranked No. 1 among ODI batters, after the legendary Kiwi Glenn Turner, who did so in 1979.
Only Turner and Mitchell have ever held the top spot in the ODI batter rankings, despite the fact that fellow New Zealanders Martin Crowe, Andrew Jones, Roger Twose, Nathan Astle, Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, and Ross Taylor all spent time in the top five during their great careers.
Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran fell one spot to third, while Shubman Gill (4th), Virat Kohli (5th), and Shreyas Lyer (8th) are in the top ten.
Following their ODI series against Sri Lanka, a number of Pakistani players saw significant improvements. Mohammad Rizwan moved up five spots to equal 22nd, while Fakhar Zaman moved up five spots to equal 26th.
In the three-match rubber against their Asian rival, Pakistan achieved an impressive 3-0 series sweep. According to the most recent rankings for ODI bowlers, which are still led by Afghanistan tweaker Rashid Khan, the two biggest winners were spinner Abrar Ahmed (up 11 spots to ninth) and pacer Haris Rauf (up five spots to 23rd).
Meanwhile, a number of players from both teams climbed the most recent Test rankings for batters following the conclusion of the first Test between India and South Africa in Kolkata. Proteas captain Temba Bavuma moved to the top five for the first time in his career after his outstanding hand of 55 not out in the second innings of the match.
After scoring a century in the first Test match against Ireland in Sylhet, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto moved up four slots to equal 34th, while India counterpart Shubman Gill went up two spaces to 11th despite suffering an injury during the same match.
During the first Test at Eden Gardens, teammates Kuldeep Yadav (up two ranks to a career-best 13th) and Ravindra Jadeja (up four spaces to 15th) were among the players to make some progress, but India pacer Jasprit Bumrah maintained his position as the top Test bowler after six wickets.
Following respectable hauls against India, South Africa’s Marco Jansen (up one rank to 11th) and Simon Harmer (up 20 places to 24th) both moved up the list of Test bowlers.
In the most recent rankings of Test all-rounders, Jansen also moved up one spot to fifth.
