New Delhi: As India and Pakistan continue to quarrel over the venue of the 2025 Champions Trophy, Pakistan cricket has recieved a major boost in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings. India’s tough stance of not visiting their neighbouring country for a marquee event might have irked the Pakistani fans and former cricketers but the news of their players reigning supreme over Indian cricketers is music to their fears.
With pacer Shaheen Afridi re-claiming the No.1 ranking in the ODI Bowler Rankings, Pakistan now have players at the top of both bowling and batting charts. While Afridi returned to the top spot on the back of a brilliant performance during Pakistan’s recent series 2-1 ODI series win over Australia, Babar Azam increased his lead at the top of the batting chart after scoring 80 runs in the 3-match series against the Aussies.
Afridi annihilated the Aussie batters and snared eight wickets in three matches at a brilliant average of 12.62. Meanwhile, Babar looked solid across the three matches and was dismissed just once in the series.
Pakistanis on top but where are the Indians placed?
Star Pakistani batter Babar reigns supreme at the top of the ODI batting rankings with 825 rating points. Behind him is India skipper Rohit Sharma with 765 rating points. Young Indian opener Shubman Gill is third on the list with 763 points while superstar batter Virat Kohli is placed in fourth spot with 746 rating points.
In bowling charts, Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi reigns supreme over the Indian bowlers with 696 rating points. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav is the best-placed Indian at 4th with 665 points. Star speedster Jasprit Bumrah sits sixth with 645 points in his kitty. Bumrah’s Indian compatriot Mohammed Siraj sits joint seventh with New Zealand pacer Trent Boult.
Remarkably, no Indian or Pakistani player is in the top 10 in the all-rounders’ rankings. And more remarkably, Shaheen Afridi, the top-ranked ODI bowler who is not a renowned all-rounder, is above India’s Ravindra Jadeja, the No.1 ranked Test all-rounder in the 50-over ranking for the all-rounders. While Afridi is placed at 13th spot, Jadeja is 14th.
ICC ODI Rankings: Indian batters, bowlers and all-rounders are second-best to Pakistanis in the latest ICC Men’s ODI rankings. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
