IND vs SA: Shubman Gill loses number one spot in ODIs; Babar Azam regains his first position

Indian batsman Shubman Gill on Wednesday (December 20) lost his number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings updated by the International Cricket Council (ICC). He has been replaced by Pakistani batsman Babar Azam, who previously held the position for over 950 days.

Shubman Gill and Babar Azam played the ODI last time during the ICC World Cup 2023 and I haven’t appeared in the format since. The reason why the Pakistan batsman got the top spot is that the young Indian opener has been rested from the ongoing ODI series, which has caused him to lose important rating points.

Babar Azam claimed the number 1 spot with 824 ratings, while Shubman Gill fell to 810 rating points. The Indian batsman would be devastated by losing the top spot. However, he will have plenty of chances to get the better of Babar as Pakistan are not lined up to play ODIs for a long time.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retained their third and fourth place. But there have been some changes in the bottom half. Irishman Harry Tector gained a place, while South Africans Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen lost a place each after their failure in the first ODI against India.

Here is the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen

Apart from the ODI rankings, there were also some changes in the Test Match rankings. Australian opener Usman Khawaja, after his brave knock in the first Test against Pakistan, moved up four places. He is ahead of Babar Azam in the rankings. The Pakistan batsman dropped to fifth place after a poor outing in the Perth Test.

Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith retained their first, second and third place respectively. Marnus Labuschagne, who did not perform well in the test against Pakistan, dropped to eighth place.

Here are the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen:

Apart from Babar Azam; Adil Rashid becomes the new No. 1 ranked T20I bowler

Apart from Babar Azam becoming the number one ODI batsman, England spinner Adil Rashid wrote history by becoming the new number one ranked T20I bowler. He became the second player from his country to achieve the feat. He got the top spot after his recent performances in the T20I series against the West Indies.

West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein also made substantial gains in the rankings. He rose three places to sixth position. While South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi rose three places to ninth place.

Here is the ICC ranking for T20I bowlers

There were also some changes in the T20I rankings for batsmen. West Indies Brandon King moved up to sixth place. Suryakumar Yadav, after his great performance against South Africa, extended his lead at the top and is now 100 points ahead of Mohammed Rizwan, who is second.