Even though Pakistan's performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 has not been as per expectations, the dominance of Pakistani players continues in the ICC rankings. Babar Azam's dominance among batsmen continues. At the same time, among bowlers, Shaheen Afridi has become the new number one ODI bowler in the world. Shaheen has left Australia's Josh Hazlewood behind.
Pakistan's fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled amazingly in the match against Bangladesh. Afridi has taken three wickets for 23 runs in 9 overs. Afridi got a big reward for this match-winning performance. He has come to the first position in the latest ICC rankings for bowlers. Afridi is performing brilliantly in this World Cup. He is the joint highest wicket-taker in the tournament along with Australian leg spinner Adam Zampa. Both have taken a total of 16 wickets. Afridi has jumped 9 places.
In the latest ICC ODI rankings for bowlers, after Afridi, Josh Hazlewood is at second place, India's Mohammed Siraj is at third place and South Africa's Keshav Maharaj is at fourth place. All these bowlers have lost one place each. At the same time, Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Afghanistan's Mujeeb ur Rehman are at 7th and 8th position respectively.
This is the first time that Afridi has achieved the number 1 ranking in any format. This means that Pakistan players are together at the top position in the ODI rankings. This is because Babar Azam is on top in the ODI ranking of batsmen. However, Babar's lead is only two rating points. Babar has 818 rating points while Shubman Gill is in second place. He has 816 rating points. Babar may suffer loss due to poor performance in the match against Bangladesh. Babar has so far scored 216 runs in 7 innings in the World Cup.
| Pos | PLayer | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaheen Afridi | Pakistan | 673 |
| 2 | Josh Hazlewood | Australia | 663 |
| 3 | Mohammed Siraj | India | 656 |
| 4 | Keshav Maharaj | South Afirca | 651 |
| 5 | Trent Boult | New Zealand | 649 |
Also Read: Can Pakistan still qualify for the semifinals in World Cup?
