DUBAI: In a significant development, Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has lost his top position in the ICC Men’s ODI bowling rankings, now overtaken by Afghanistan‘s Rashid Khan.
The latest rankings, released on Wednesday, show Afridi in second place, while South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj remains in third. Despite a standout performance with eight wickets at an average of 12.62 during Pakistan’s historic ODI series win over Australia, Afridi was rested for the ongoing series against Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Haris Rauf, who played a key role in the 2-1 series victory over Australia and was named Player of the Series, has dropped two spots to 15th.
In the ODI batting rankings, emerging opener Saim Ayub, who scored a brilliant century in Pakistan’s 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the second ODI, surged 80 places to 90th. He continues to be behind Babar Azam, who leads the rankings.
In other rankings news, India’s Jasprit Bumrah reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men’s Test bowling rankings following his outstanding performance in the first Test against Australia in Perth, where his match figures of 8/72 propelled him ahead of Australia’s Josh Hazlewood and South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada. Bumrah’s 883 rating points marked his career-best performance, the highest ever by an Indian pacer in the format.
Meanwhile, India’s spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (904) and Ravindra Jadeja (899) have accumulated higher ratings than Bumrah’s 833.
This marks Bumrah’s third time this year at the top of the Test rankings, with previous stints in February and October.
On the batting side, India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli made significant strides, with Jaiswal reaching a career-high second position behind Joe Root, while Kohli jumped nine places to claim 13th.
