Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has replaced Indian opener Shubman Gill to reclaim the No.1 position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batters, announced on Wednesday (December 20).

Gill lost the numero uno spot as a result of his absence from the ongoing One-Day International series against South Africa.

Babar currently occupies the top spot with an impressive 824 rating points followed by Gill, who has 810 rating points to his name.

While Shubman slipped to the second spot, star batter Virat Kohli and India skipper Rohit Sharma maintained their third and fourth positions in the updated rankings.

Babar's poor display in the opening Test against Australia in Perth saw him drop from fourth to fifth place (801 rating points). In the Perth Test, the right-hander registered scores of 21 and 14 across the two innings. With 864 rating points, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson continues to lead the Test batter rankings.

Notably, Pakistan’s last ODI match was on November 11 during the 2023 World Cup, when they face England at the Eden Gardens.

Not playing an ODI for nearly 40 days helped Babar Azam to regain the top spot as his rating points did not drop, whereas Gill lost rating points because of missing out on matches when his team was playing.

In the ODI bowling rankings, India’s ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has dropped to fifth for the same reason as Shubman Gill.