Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi claimed the top spot in the ICC bowlers ODI rankings after his three-wicket haul against Bangladesh in World Cup. Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has also managed to hold his top spot in batters rankings despite poor outings in World Cup. To note, Babar Azam and Co. recently defeated Bangladesh to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
Shaheen Afridi achieved the top ranking for first time
As mentioned above, Afridi scalped three wickets during Pakistan’s emphatic triumph over Bangladesh in Kolkata on Tuesday to keep his side’s semi-final hopes alive, and it also helped catapult the 23-year-old past nine of his contemporaries to claim the mantle as the No.1 ranked ODI bowler.
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood (second), India’s Mohammed Siraj (third) and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj (fourth) all lose one place courtesy of Afridi’s nine-spot jump, with spin duo Kuldeep Yadav (seventh) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (eighth) both gaining two places inside the top 10.
It is the first time that Afridi has held the No.1 ranking in any format and means Pakistan players simultaneously cling on to the top spot in two ODI categories as skipper Babar Azam maintains his narrow lead at the head of the corresponding batting list.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam’s lead at the top of the ODI batter rankings is down to just two rating points, with the Pakistan captain almost paying the price for an innings of just nine runs against Bangladesh.
The right-hander has a total of 216 runs from seven innings at the World Cup and his closest challenger in India’s Shubman Gill has not yet been able to capitalise with just 104 runs from four knocks.
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