India’s grip on the ODI batting charts loosened this week as Rohit Sharma slipped to No. 2, with New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell taking over as the new No. 1 in the latest ICC rankings.
Mitchell’s rise, only the second time a New Zealand batter has ever topped the list after Glenn Turner in 1979, came on the back of his seventh ODI century against the West Indies. The innings, however, ended with a self-inflicted injury that ruled him out of the remainder of the series.
Fellow New Zealanders Martin Crowe, Andrew Jones, Roger Twose, Nathan Astle, Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, and Ross Taylor all spent time inside the top five of the ODI batter rankings during their illustrious careers, but only Turner and now Mitchell have ever held the No.1 spot.
Despite Rohit’s demotion, India continue to dominate the top bracket of ODI batting with four Indians, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Rohit, remaining inside the top 10, underlining the team’s depth in the format. Gill, currently recovering from a neck injury, is at No. 4 and remains India’s highest-ranked batter.
Across formats, South Africa’s stunning Test win in Kolkata has also had consequences for Indian players in the rankings. Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma entered the top five in the list of Test batters for the first time after his gritty half-century in difficult conditions, while Gill sits just outside the top 10 with 737 points, despite not batting in India’s second innings due to injury.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto rises four places to equal 34th following his century in the first Test against Ireland in Sylhet. Mahmudul Hasan Joy also benefited from his second Test ton, making a jump up by 19 places to 74th spot.
In the bowling charts, Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the rankings following his six-wicket haul at Eden Gardens, with teammates Kuldeep Yadav (up two spots to a career-best 13th) and Ravindra Jadeja (up four places to 15th) among the players to make some inroads.
South Africa duo Marco Jansen (up one spot to 11th) and Simon Harmer (up 20 places to 24th) also rose on the list for Test bowlers following decent hauls against India, while Jansen gained a place to move to fifth on the latest rankings for Test all-rounders.
Elsewhere, Pakistan’s 3-0 ODI sweep of Sri Lanka saw legspinner Abrar Ahmed vault 11 places to No. 9 among ODI bowlers, while Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan remains the No. 1 ODI bowler.
In the T20I rankings, New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy rose to No. 2 after a strong run against West Indies, sandwiched between India’s Varun Chakravarthy at No. 1 and Rashid at No. 3.