Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has reclaimed his No.1 position in the latest ICC ODI Rankings released on Wednesday (December 20). Shubman Gill has slipped to number two after missing the ongoing ODI series against South Africa and has 810 ratings to his name now while Babar has 824 rating points to his name.
Interestingly, Pakistan have not played a single ODI since November 11 when they played their last league stage encounter at the World Cup, against England. Babar is currently gearing up for the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) against Australia that is set to commence on December 26. Not playing an ODI for close to 40 days has worked for him in rankings as his rating points didn't dip while Gill missed out when India were playing and hence, lost rating points eventually losing his numero uno position to Babar.
There are no other changes in the top 10 rankings among batters in ODIs with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma sitting at third and fourth position respectively. Among bowlers, Adam Zampa has jumped to number four as Jasprit Bumrah has slipped to fifth for the same reason as Gill.
Adil Rashid becomes top ranked T20I bowler, Surya extends his lead
In the T20I rankings, Suryakumar Yadav has managed to extend his lead at the top of the rankings with 887 rating points after a stunning show in the T20I series vs South Africa. He now has a 100-point lead over second placed Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan. Aiden Markram is at the third place while Babar Azam is fourth in the rankings for the shortest format. The eight-crore pick at the IPL auction, Rilee Rossouw completes the top five batters in the ICC rankings in T20Is.
Among bowlers, England leggie Adil Rashid has reached the number one position following a sensational show in the ongoing T20I series against the West Indies. He has so far picked up seven wickets in four matches at an exceptional economy under 7 which is a commendable effort in what has been a high-scoring series. India's Ravi Bishnoi has now slipped to third while Rashid Khan is placed at number two.