India captain Rohit Sharma has claimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI batting rankings for the first time in his career following his impressive performances in the recent series against Australia. Rohit scored 73 and an unbeaten 121 in the second and third ODIs, which helped him rise from third to the top position.
Despite India losing the series 2-1, Rohit’s consistent form lifted him past Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and teammate Shubman Gill to take the top ranking. The right-hander has been a regular feature in the top ten for the past decade, but this marks his maiden appearance at the very top.
Rohit wasn’t the only Indian player to move up in the latest rankings. All-rounder Axar Patel made notable gains after contributing with both bat and ball during the series. He took one wicket in each of the three matches and scored 31 and 44 in the first two games. These performances helped him climb six places to No. 31 among bowlers and four spots to No. 8 among all-rounders.
Among other notable movers, New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner rose three places to fourth in the ODI bowling rankings after strong performances against England, while Australia’s Josh Hazlewood moved up two positions to eighth.
In Test cricket, following the drawn series between Pakistan and South Africa, Keshav Maharaj gained nine spots to reach a career-best 13th among bowlers after taking nine wickets in the only Test he played. Simon Harmer, who picked up 13 wickets across two Tests, jumped 26 places to 45th.
On the batting front, South Africa’s Aiden Markram climbed two positions to 15th, while Tony de Zorzi advanced seven places to joint 47th in the latest Test rankings.