Daryl Mitchell replaces Rohit Sharma as top ranked ODI batter

New Delhi: New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell has replaced Rohit Sharma as the top-ranked batter in the latest update to the ICC Men’s ODI rankings, while India pacer Jasprit Bumrah continues to hold the pole position in the Test bowlers rankings.

Mitchell has become the first New Zealand player since Glenn Turner in 1979 to be on top of the men’s ODI batting rankings, following his match-winning century against the West Indies in the series opener. Before being ruled out of the series due to a groin injury, Mitchell hit a 118-ball 119, which earned him the Player of the Match award.

That knock has lifted him past Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and Rohit by a single rating point, ending the latter’s brief 22-day reign at the summit of the rankings. While Turner was the last New Zealander to hold the number one spot 46 years ago, others such as Nathan Astle, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson have climbed as high as third in the rankings.

Pakistan’s Babar Azam, meanwhile, rose to sixth place after hitting an unbeaten 102 against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, while his teammates Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman have moved up to 22nd and 26th places respectively after scoring two half-centuries each in the series. IANS

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