Rohit narrows gap with Babar in ICC rankings

Shaheen Afridi makes a significant move in the bowling department

In the latest ICC Men's ODI Batter Rankings, openers from India and Sri Lanka have made significant strides, closing in on Pakistan's Babar Azam, who continues to hold a commanding lead at the top.

India's Rohit Sharma and Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka have emerged as the biggest winners, each advancing in the rankings following their strong performances in the recent ODI series.

Rohit rose to second place in the rankings, surpassing his teammate Shubman Gill. Sharma's series-best 157 runs at a striking rate of 141.44 against Sri Lanka propelled him to the runner-up spot, just behind Babar Azam. Despite this, Babar remains the top-ranked ODI batter and enjoys a healthy lead.

Shubman Gill, however, experienced a slight drop, moving down to third place with 763 rating points, while Virat Kohli retained his position in fourth place with 746 rating points. KL Rahul, another Indian batter, also declined, dropping to 21st with 644 rating points.

Pathum Nissanka also made significant progress, climbing to the 8th spot with 708 rating points, following his consistent performances in the series against India, where he scored 101 runs.

In addition to Nissanka, Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando also gained rankings. Mendis jumped five places to equal 39th, while Fernando rose 20 spots to 68th. Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq maintained their positions in the updated rankings, with Fakhar remaining in 12th place and Imam in 15th. Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan improved his ranking, moving up two places to 29th with 597 rating points.

In the bowling department, Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi made a significant move, rising two places to 7th in the latest ICC Bowling Rankings with 650 rating points. His compatriot, Haris Rauf, retained his 22nd spot with 563 rating points.

Meanwhile, India's Mohammad Siraj dropped from 4th to 9th after a disappointing performance in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, where he managed just three wickets across three matches.

Namibia's Bernard Scholtz also made headlines by rising to 5th place with 657 rating points, while South Africa's Keshav Maharaj topped the rankings with 716 rating points.

There were also notable changes in the Test player rankings following the draw between West Indies and South Africa in Trinidad. South Africa's captain, Temba Bavuma, achieved a career-high rating and moved up to 16th place among Test batters.