New Delhi: India’s young stars Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj have achieved the number one positions in the ODI batting and bowling rankings respectively, after their brilliant performance in the World Cup 2023. They have both surpassed the Pakistani players Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who were the previous holders of the top spots.
Shubman Gill, who scored 453 runs in eight matches at an average of 64.71 and a strike rate of 97.63, has become the fourth Indian player after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli to reach the number one position in the ODI batting rankings. He played some match-winning innings for India, giving them solid starts and anchoring the chase. He also scored two centuries and two fifties in the tournament.
Mohammed Siraj, who took 18 wickets in eight matches at an average of 19.22 and an economy rate of 4.86, has become the first Indian bowler to top the ODI bowling rankings since Jasprit Bumrah in 2019. He bowled with pace, accuracy, and swing, troubling the batsmen with his variations and yorkers. He also took a five-wicket haul against England in the semi-final.
India’s dominance in both batting and bowling is evident from the fact that there are three Indian batsmen and four Indian bowlers in the top 10 of the ODI rankings. Apart from Gill, Virat Kohli is at number four and captain Rohit Sharma is at number six in the batting rankings. Kohli scored 389 runs in eight matches at an average of 55.57 and a strike rate of 94.19, while Sharma scored 361 runs in eight matches at an average of 51.57 and a strike rate of 92.87. They both scored one century and two fifties each in the tournament.
Apart from Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav is at number four, Jasprit Bumrah is at number eight and Mohammed Shami is at number 10 in the bowling rankings. Kuldeep Yadav took 15 wickets in eight matches at an average of 21.66 and an economy rate of 5.04, while Bumrah took 14 wickets in eight matches at an average of 23.07 and an economy rate of 4.75. Shami took 12 wickets in seven matches at an average of 24.25 and an economy rate of 5.35.
India’s impressive performance in the World Cup has also helped them retain the number one position in the ODI team rankings, with 125 rating points. They are followed by Australia with 118 points and England with 115 points. India won seven out of eight matches in the World Cup, losing only to Australia in the group stage. They defeated England by six wickets in the semi-final and New Zealand by seven wickets in the final to lift their third World Cup trophy.
