Shaheen Afridi reclaims top spot in ODI bowlers rankings

Dubai: Pakistan's premier fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has reclaimed the No.1 position in the ICC Men's ODI Bowler Rankings, a spot he initially held during last year's Cricket World Cup in India.

Afridi’s recent performance in Pakistan’s victorious series against Australia, where he claimed eight wickets across three games at an impressive average of 12.62, helped propel him to the top spot once more.

Afridi’s rise comes as part of a reshuffling in the rankings, with South Africa’s spinner Keshav Maharaj slipping to third and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan maintaining his position at second.

Afridi’s dominance on the field, combined with Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s leading spot in the ODI batting rankings, makes Pakistan the only team with the No.1-ranked player in both ODI batting and bowling.

Babar, who scored 80 runs against Australia with only one dismissal, continues to hold the top batter rankings. Afridi wasn’t the only Pakistani bowler making strides. Haris Rauf surged up the ranks to reach a career-best 13th spot, following his Player of the Series performance against Australia with 10 wickets.

Naseem Shah also achieved a new career-high, advancing 14 spots to 55th overall. Additionally, Pakistan’s new ODI captain, Mohammad Rizwan, climbed to 23rd on the batting charts after a series against Australia.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto rose 11 places to share the 23rd spot among ODI batters, while Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai improved his position to 31st.

On the ODI bowling front, West Indies’ Gudakesh Motie and Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz saw gains, with Mehidy rising nine spots to 23rd.

In T20I rankings, England’s Phil Salt and Jos Buttler moved up to second and sixth respectively, among batters after strong showings against the West Indies. South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks and Tristan Stubbs made notable gains in the T20I batting rankings amid their current series with India, with Stubbs leaping up 12 spots to 26th.

Bowling rankings in T20Is also saw movement, with Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga advancing to second place behind England’s Adil Rashid. West Indies’ Akeal Hosein and India’s Ravi Bishnoi rose to third and seventh, respectively.

New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner and Lockie Ferguson, England’s Jofra Archer, and Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana all made strides, especially Pathirana, who jumped an impressive 22 spots to 31st.

On the all-rounder's chart, England’s Liam Livingstone maintained his T20I top spot, with Hasaranga moving to fifth and West Indies’ Romario Shepherd rising to eighth.