Pakistan’s star pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi, has reached the top spot in the ICC Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings. His rise comes after a remarkable performance in Pakistan’s historic ODI series victory over Australia, where he took eight wickets at an impressive average of 12.62.
Afridi moved up three places to replace South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj, who dropped to third. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan remains second.
Afridi had previously held the top ranking during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. His bowling partner, Haris Rauf, was also in the spotlight, improving 14 places to 13th in the rankings and achieving a career-high rating. Naseem Shah also progressed, jumping 14 spots to a joint 55th position.
With Afridi’s rise to the top, Pakistan now has the top-ranked players in both the batting and bowling categories. Babar Azam, the country’s top batter, continues to dominate the batting rankings, extending his lead over India’s Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli. Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s new white-ball captain, also made gains, moving up to 23rd in the ODI batting rankings after scoring 74 runs in the series.
Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi, nearing the end of his career, remains at the top of the all-rounders' rankings.
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