Zimbabwe star Sikandar Raza has achieved a career milestone by becoming the No. 1 ODI allrounder in the ICC rankings for the very first time. Raza’s impactful performances against Sri Lanka in Harare — where he struck 92 and an unbeaten 59, along with a crucial wicket — lifted him above Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi, who now occupy the second and third spots.
“𝑹𝒂𝒛𝒂’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅’𝒔 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑶𝑫𝑰 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔,” 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝑪𝑪 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆.
Keshav Maharaj Claims Top Spot Among ODI Bowlers
South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj is now the outright No. 1 ODI bowler after ending his tie with Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana. Maharaj’s rise came following his outstanding spell of 4 for 22 in the series opener against England at Leeds, helping his side to a dominant win.
On the batting front, Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka shone bright as the Player of the Series versus Zimbabwe. His tally of 198 runs boosted him seven places up to 13th among ODI batters. Teammate Janith Liyanage jumped 13 places to 29th, while Zimbabwe veteran Sean Williams climbed three places to 47th.
“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒓𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂’𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍.
Afghanistan and Pakistan Players Rise in T20I Rankings
In the T20I format, Afghanistan batters made notable progress. Ibrahim Zadran moved up 12 spots to 20th, while Sediqullah Atal registered a stunning leap of 346 places to reach 127th, after strong performances against UAE and Pakistan in the ongoing tri-series.
Pakistan also had reason to celebrate. Youngster Hasan Nawaz entered the charts at joint-31st among batters, while the bowling trio of Sufiyan Muqeem (22nd), Shaheen Afridi (26th), and Mohammad Nawaz (43rd) gained significant ground in the latest rankings.
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