Mitchell starred with 352 runs with two centuries in the recent 3-ODI series against India.
New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell, thanks to his Player of the Series performance in the recent three-match ODI series against India, has become the new no. 1 ranked ICC ODI batter. This update was released by ICC on January 21, 2026.
Daryl Mitchell hammered 84, 131*, and 137 in the three ODIs against India in Baroda, Rajkot, and Indore, respectively. Mitchell now has nine ODI tons in only 54 innings, making him the fourth-fastest male to nine one-day international hundreds, only behind Imam-ul-Haq (48), Hashim Amla (52), and Quinton de Kock (53).
Thanks to Mitchell’s 137 and his 219-run partnership with Glenn Phillips (106), New Zealand posted 337/8 in 50 overs after being asked to bat first. India lost the top order for cheap, with only Virat Kohli scoring 124 runs, keeping India’s hopes alive. Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana scored fifties, but India was bowled out for 296 runs, losing the game by 41 runs.
Mitchell was named the Player of the Match and Player of the Series, as he scored 352 runs. His tally is the most by a New Zealander in a three-match ODI series and the third-most of all time, behind only Pakistan’s Babar Azam (360 against the West Indies in 2016) and India’s Shubman Gill (360 against New Zealand in 2023).
Thanks to his amazing run of form, Mitchell gained 845 ranking points and aptly replaced Virat Kohli (795 points) as the new No. 1 ranked ODI batter in ICC rankings. Kohli was demoted to the no. 2 spot, but the pair sit well clear of a chasing pack that includes Ibrahim Zadran, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Babar Azam.
Daryl Mitchell became the no. 1 ranked ODI batter for only the second time in his career, but his first reign lasted only three days in November 2024, when Rohit Sharma dethroned him.
Behind Mitchell and Kohli, Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran (third, 764 ranking points) trades places with India's Rohit Sharma (fourth, 757). Phillips scored 106 runs from 88 balls, moving him up 16 places to 20th.
Phillips also moves up 14 ranks to equal 31st in the list of ODI all-rounders, while Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai stays at the top.
Michael Bracewell of New Zealand was the biggest mover in the ODI bowling rankings, moving up six spots to 33rd after his performances in the first two games of the India series.
The top of the bowling rankings remains intact, with Afghanistan's Rashid Khan (710 points) leading ahead of England's Jofra Archer (670 points).
(ICC inputs)