Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj’s reign as the no.1 ranked ODI bowler came to an end on March 22, 2023, as per the latest update by the ICC of their players' rankings. The new no.1 ranked bowler in ODIs in the world is Australian Josh Hazlewood.
Another Australian pacer, Mitchell Starc, who impressed during the first two ODIs of the three-match series in India, also moved up to join Siraj at joint third.
Siraj, who returned with impressive figures of 3/29 to help India win the first ODI against Australia, was expensive in the second ODI giving away 37 runs in three overs, and therefore lost his position as the top-ranked bowler.
Siraj, who has had a successful run across formats in the recent past, was crowned as the world No. 1 bowler in ODIs in January this year.
Shreyas Iyer to undergo back surgery, set to miss IPL 2023 and WTC final: Report
On the other hand, Starc recorded his 9th five-wicket haul in ODIs in the second match of the series against India in Vishakhapatnam as his 5/53 routed India for 117 and helped Australia win the match by 10 wickets.
Hazlewood, who missed the entire tour of India consisting of four Tests and three ODIs, became the world No. 1 bowler in ODIs for the first time ever.
“Hazlewood, whose career-best second position was attained for the first time in June 2017 and which he had kept since August 2022, is No. 1 in ODIs for the first time,” the ICC said.
Mohammad Shami, who produced a match-winning spell in Mumbai, also moved five spots up to reach 28th on the list.
David Warner gave up Test retirement option in Sydney to keep his Ashes dream alive: Candice Warner
On the batting side of things, KL Rahul’s match-winning 75* in the Mumbai ODI helped him move up three places to get to the 39th spot. India’s Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli remained fifth and seventh respectively, while captain Rohit Sharma moved up one place to ninth.
In the Test batting rankings, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson moved to the second spot thanks to his scores of 1, 121 not out, and 215 in the two-match series which the Kiwis won 2-0. Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne remains the top-ranked batter in Test cricket.
Henry Nicholls, who also scored a double century in the second Test against Sri Lanka, and was involved in a massive 363-run stand with Williamson in what was Test cricket’s 2,500th match, jumped up 20 spots to reach 27th.
(PTI inputs)
