NOV 08, 2023 : Babar Azam was the top-ranked ODI batter in the world until Shubman Gill of India’s blistering run in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. On Wednesday, the Men in Blue opener overtook the skipper of Pakistan in the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings. After an explosive start to India’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign, Gill ascended to the top to dethrone Babar. He is now just the fourth player from his nation to hold the No. 1 ODI batter position, following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and MS Dhoni.The right-hander has amassed 219 runs from six innings at the event thus far in the ongoing campaign, scoring 92 against Sri Lanka and 23 against South Africa. With eight knocks in the World Cup, the captain of Pakistan has accumulated 282 runs, ending his more than two-year reign as the world’s best ODI batter. However, he is now six rating points behind Gill in second place. Virat Kohli, the previous captain, took fourth place in the rankings in the meantime. For the first time in his short but brilliant career, Gill is ranked #1, and Kohli’s 543 World Cup runs propel him up three spots to fourth, one rating point ahead of South Africa’s opener Quinton de Kock, who is ranked third. Among the ODI batsmen, it is noteworthy that India’s Shreyas Iyer jumps from 17 to 18 overall, while Pakistan’s opener Fakhar Zaman moves up three spaces to 11th and his Afghan counterpart Ibrahim Zadran moves up six spots to 12th.
