For the first time in his illustrious career, former India captain Rohit Sharma took the top spot in the ICC Men’s ODI batting rankings on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Rohit made history by moving up two ranks following his incredible undefeated century (121 not out) in the third and final ODI against Australia in Sydney, when he guided India to a convincing nine-wicket victory.
Alongside fellow Indian legend Virat Kohli (74 not out), the seasoned right-hander was in a destructive mood as he hammered 13 fours and three huge sixes to score his 33rd ODI century and 50th international hundred.
After consistently ranking in the top 10 for the most of the previous ten years, Rohit’s efforts saw him surpass Afghanistan dasher Ibrahim Zadran and India teammate Shubman Gill to take the top spot for batters in ODI cricket for the first time.
The former captain wasn’t the only player to gain some ground on the updated rankings this week. India spinner Axar Patel was rewarded for a great performance in Sydney with gains in both the bowling and all-rounder categories.
Axar improved four ranks to eighth overall behind Azmatullah Omarzai on the rankings for ODI all-rounders and advanced six spots to 31st behind top-ranked Rashid Khan on the list for ODI bowlers.
New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner (up three spots to fourth) and Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood (up two spaces to eighth) are among the top 10 ODI bowlers, while England right-hander Harry Brook moved up 23 ranks to 25th overall on the list of ODI batters.
Following South Africa’s thrilling eight-wicket triumph over Pakistan in Rawalpindi, there was also some movement in the most recent Test rankings, with seasoned spinner Keshav Maharaj benefiting most from his Player of the Match exploits.
After taking 9 wickets in the Test, Maharaj moved up nine spaces to a new career-high rating in 13th place on the list for Test bowlers, while teammate Simon Harmer moved up 26 spots to 45th place after taking 6 wickets in the second innings of the same match.
Following the Rawalpindi Test, South Africa’s Aiden Markram (up two spaces to 15th) and Tony de Zorzi (up seven ranks to equal 47th) were the two biggest shifts on the rankings for Test batsmen. Compatriot Kagiso Rabada improved eight spots to move to 11th on the list for Test all-rounders.
