Babar Azam becomes No.1 ODI batter in ICC Rankings again as Shubman Gill misses South Africa series.
On Wednesday, December 20, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released their weekly ranking charts, bringing about notable changes in the ODI and T20I categories. In a surprising turn of events, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has ascended to the No.1 spot in the ODI rankings, displacing Shubman Gill.
Both Babar Azam and Shubman Gill have been inactive in ODI matches since their teams exited the ICC World Cup 2023 in November. Despite the absence of game time, Babar Azam has managed to secure a lead of 14 rating points over Gill. Currently, Babar holds the top position with 810 points, while Gill closely follows in the second position with the same rating.
In this shuffle, Virat Kohli has climbed to the third spot, with Indian captain Rohit Sharma securing the fourth rank.
The T20I rankings have also witnessed changes for Indian players. Ravi Bishnoi, previously holding the No.1 position in the T20I bowling rankings after his outstanding performance against Australia, has now slipped to the third spot with 685 points. Adil Rashid claimed the top position following an impressive display in the ongoing series against West Indies.
Suryakumar Yadav maintains his stronghold on the top position in the T20I rankings, sitting 100 rating points ahead of the second-placed Mohammed Rizwan, who holds 787 rating points. Babar Azam finds himself in the fourth position in the T20I rankings.