Mohammad Siraj regains top spot, Kuldeep Yadav moves down in ODI rankings

(L-R) Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj (Pic: AFP)

India's star pacer Mohammed Siraj on Wednesday regained the World No. 1 spot in the men's ICC ODI bowling rankings following his spectacular six-wicket haul in the final of the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2023.

Siraj, who first grabbed the top position in January before being displaced by Josh Hazlewood in March, surged eight spots after his memorable performance that helped dismiss Sri Lanka for just 50 runs and enabled India to complete a 10-wicket victory in the summit clash.

The Afghan spin duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan also improved their rankings to No. 4 and No. 5 respectively. They were the only others to go up in the top 10.

Left-arm wrist spinner and compatriot Kuldeep Yadav has moved down three places to ninth. Meanwhile, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah climbed up two places to 27th while Hardik Pandya rose eight spots to 50th.

Outside that space, South Africa's Keshav Maharaj showed tremendous rise after returning from his injury. The left-arm spinner's 4-33 in the fifth ODI gave him eight wickets in the series at an average of 16.87 and an economy of just 4.07 per over. He is currently at 15th, up ten places from his previous career-high.

Significant changes were also in place in the ICC Men's ODI batting rankings. Indian openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma have retained their second and 10th spots respectively while star batter Virat Kohli moved up a rung to eighth. Pandya is the only all-rounder in the top 20, climbing up a spot to the sixth place.

Also Read: Asia Cup: Rain and remorse, the dazzlers, and the unthinkable pace potency

Heinrich Klaasen of South Africa produced an all-time destructive ODI knock against Australia in the fourth ODI. No one has scored more runs in an ODI innings at a higher strike-rate than Klaasen's 174 at 209.64 in Centurion. It helped South Africa to a 164-run win and moved Klaasen 20 places in the Men's ODI Batting Rankings. He is now placed ninth.

Dawid Malan was dynamic in England's ODI series against New Zealand, being the highest run-scorer with 277 runs at an average of 92.33 and a strike-rate of 105.72.

Malan, who spent 357 days at No.1 spot in the ICC Men's T20I Batting Rankings earlier in his career, is placed at a career-best 13th place in the ODI Rankings. His compatriot Ben Stokes, who recently reversed his retirement, celebrated his ODI comeback with a sensational knock of 182 at The Oval. With his eye-catching performances, Stokes has reached the 36th place in the ODI batting rankings.