LAHORE: Pakistan’s pace sensation, Shaheen Afridi, has claimed the top spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI bowler rankings following a stellar performance in Pakistan’s historic ODI series win against Australia.
Afridi took eight wickets at an average of 12.62 during the series, propelling him to surpass South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj, now ranked third, while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan holds the second position. Afridi had previously held the No. 1 rank during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.
Meanwhile, Haris Rauf, named Player of the Series for his match-winning spells, surged 14 places to claim the 13th spot, achieving a career-best ranking. Naseem Shah also made significant strides, climbing 14 spots to share the 55th position.
Pakistan’s dominance in the ICC rankings extends to batting, with skipper Babar Azam maintaining his position as the No.1 ODI batsman. Babar extended his lead over Indian rivals Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli by scoring 80 runs in three matches against Australia, being dismissed only once.
Newly-appointed white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan also showed progress, rising two places to a joint 23rd position in the batting rankings after scoring 74 runs in the series.
