ICC rankings: Indian skipper Virat Kohli retains top spot

Babar Azam has 837 points, 18 less than Rohit, who is in the second position. Babar has gained valuable rating points to move closer to leading Indian pair of Kohli and Rohit.

Dubai: Indian skipper Virat Kohli retained his top spot in the batting list while Pakistan captain Babar Azam has bridged the gap a little with Rohit Sharma.

Babar Azam has 837 points, 18 less than Rohit, who is in the second position. Babar has gained valuable rating points to move closer to leading Indian pair of Kohli and Rohit.

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi, who picked up 5/49 in the first ODI against Zimbabwe, has shot up eight places to break into the top 20 for the first time.

The 20-year-old fast bowler has achieved a career-best 16th position in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings after a notable performance in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against Zimbabwe that they won 2-1

Wahab Riaz, also a left-arm fast bowler like Shaheen, is another one to gain in the latest rankings update. He has moved up six places to 60th position, grabbing five wickets in two matches, including a haul of 4/41 in the second match of the series.

For Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams have advanced among batters after slamming fine centuries in the series. Taylor has progressed nine slots to 42nd position after scoring 204 runs including a knock of 112 in the first match.

Williams has advanced 12 places to 46th position with 197 runs including an unbeaten 118 in the final match. Among bowlers, Sikandar Raza has moved up to 66th place and Donald Tiripano to 90th.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s Super Over win in the final ODI has helped them gain 10 points while Pakistan got 20 points, remaining ahead of Australia on net run rate.

England lead with 30 points after playing two series of the Super League, introduced to bring context to ODI cricket, and to decide the seven direct qualifiers for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 along with hosts India.