Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam tops ICC ODI bowling, batting ranking

DUBAI: Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has reclaimed the top spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings, surpassing South African spinner Keshav Maharaj, who dropped to third.

Afridi took eight wickets at a significant average of 12.62 in Pakistan’s historic three-match ODI series victory over Australia after 22 years.

Similarly, fast bowler Haris Rauf also jumped 14 spots to secure 13^th place in ranking — a career-high rating — after being named Player of the Series in a recent series triumph. Meanwhile, Naseem Shah also claimed 14 positions to settle at 55th place in the rankings.

Following Afridi’s claim of the top spot, Pakistan has now the local top-ranked players in both batting and bowling rankings as Babar Azam continues his dominance in the ODI batting ranking.

The next three spots in the ICC ODI batting ranking are claimed by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kholi. Ireland’s Harry Tector comes fifth on the list of top ODI batters.

Pakistan’s newly-appointed white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan also raised two spots to a joint 23rd in the ODI batting rankings following his consistent performance and 74 runs in three innings against Australia.

For the ODI all-rounders ranking, Afghanistan’s star player Mohammad Nabi, who is set to retire, remained at the top of the all-rounders’ rankings, followed by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Rashid Khan in the list.