Shubman Gill Closes In on Top Spot in ICC ODI Batting Rankings

Dubai–India captain Shubman Gill moved closer to becoming the world’s top-ranked ODI batter after his match-winning 80 against England in the series opener at Edgbaston earned him a 12-point gain in the latest ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings.

Gill is now 11 rating points behind New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell, who remains in the No. 1 position after scoring 93 runs in the first two ODIs against the West Indies.

Returning to India’s ODI squad alongside Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Gill led the team’s chase before retiring hurt after scoring 80 from 75 balls. His innings included 11 fours and a six.

India’s chase briefly faltered after Gill left the field, but Axar Patel and Washington Sundar guided the team to victory with an unbeaten century partnership. Axar scored 57 not out from 52 balls, while Sundar made an unbeaten 52 from 63 deliveries.

Axar, who also took 4/62 and was named Player of the Match, made significant gains across the rankings. He climbed 18 places to 73rd among ODI batters, rose two positions to 42nd among bowlers and entered the top 10 of the all-rounder rankings at No. 9.

Sundar moved up 24 places to 177th in the batting rankings and gained 16 positions to reach 55th among ODI all-rounders.

Bumrah also made an immediate impact in his first ODI appearance in 968 days. He took 1/31 against England and climbed to 24th in the ODI Bowling Rankings.

England’s Joe Root rose to joint 12th in the batting rankings after scoring 76 from 76 balls, while Liam Dawson’s 68 lifted him 81 places to 262nd.

Several players also made gains during the ODI series between New Zealand and the West Indies. New Zealand seamer Jayden Lennox recorded career-best figures of 5/19 in the second match and climbed 31 places to joint 66th in the bowling rankings alongside Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madushanka.

West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph moved up six places to 36th after taking five wickets in the first two matches. Captain Shai Hope rose one spot to sixth among batters after making an unbeaten 87 in the opening game, while Keacy Carty entered the top 20 after scoring 113 runs across the first two ODIs.

In the recently completed ODI series between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, Zimbabwe opener Ben Curran climbed 31 places to 34th in the batting rankings.

All-rounder Brad Evans, who was named Player of the Series after scoring 111 runs and taking five wickets, rose 148 places to joint 167th among batters. He also moved up four spots to 107th in the bowling rankings and gained 82 positions to reach joint 90th among ODI all-rounders.

The latest T20I rankings reflected England’s 4-0 series victory over India. Captain Harry Brook climbed 12 places to seventh among batters after scoring 229 runs in five matches, including an unbeaten 95 from 45 balls in the final game.

Jos Buttler moved up one position to sixth after scoring a career-best 131 in the same match, while fast bowler Jofra Archer climbed eight places to joint 18th in the T20I Bowling Rankings after taking seven wickets in four matches. (Source: IANS)