Rohit Sharma overtakes Babar Azam to 2nd in ICC ODI batting rankings led by Shubman Gill

India’s 50-overs captain Rohit Sharma inched closer to the top spot in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ODI batting rankings, vaulting to second place over Pakistan’s Babar Azam. The change comes on the back of Babar’s underwhelming returns in the ongoing ODI series against the West Indies, where he managed just 56 runs in three matches at an average of 18.66.

Despite not featuring in an ODI since smashing a rollicking 76 in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy against New Zealand in Dubai in March, the 38-year-old Rohit moved up a place behind his young teammate Shubman Gill after Babar’s repetitive failures in the West Indies.

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Besides Rohit and Gill, there are three other Indians in the top 15, with former captain Virat Kohli standing fourth, Shreyas Iyer eighth and wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul ranking 15th. Both Rohit and Kohli retired from the other two formats — T20 and Test cricket, and the duo could be seen in action later in the year, when the Indian team tours Australia for a brief limited overs series.

On Tuesday, just days after Virat Kohli posted a photo of himself after a training session in the UK, Rohit also posted a picture of himself with former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar in the gym. Nayar reposted that with the caption that said: “Let it begin”. Rohit has begun training with Nayar at a suburban Mumbai facility after taking a break of a couple of months from cricket following the IPL

Meanwhile, the ODI bowling list had its own movers — West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie climbed to 12th after a consistent show against Pakistan, his teammate Jayden Seales surged 24 places to 33rd, and Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed improved to 54th.

There were also big shuffles in the other two formats. In T20Is, Australia’s power-hitter Tim David and South Africa’s emerging sensation Dewald Brevis made significant gains. David, the leading run-scorer after two matches against South Africa, jumped six spots to a career-best 10th. Brevis, who blasted a record-breaking unbeaten 125 in Darwin — the highest T20I score by a South African and against Australia vaulted from outside the top 100 to 21st. South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs also climbed 12 places to joint-27th.

In T20I bowling, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood rose to 20th, while the Protea pace duo Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi climbed to joint-44th and 50th respectively.

In Tests, the New Zealanders made significant gains after their massive 2-0 win against Zimbabwe. Matt Henry, named Player of the Series for 16 wickets at an average of 9.12, moved up to third in the Test Bowling Rankings. In the process, he overtook Australia captain Pat Cummins. Batters Rachin Ravindra (up 15 places to 23rd), Devon Conway (up seven spots to 37th), and Henry Nicholls (up six to 47th) were also rewarded.