India captain Shubman Gill has surged past both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the latest ICC ODI batting rankings following a dominant series against Afghanistan, putting the coveted No. 1 ranking within striking distance ahead of India’s tour of England next month.
Gill was in sublime touch throughout the three-match ODI series. After scoring 84 in the opening game, he followed it up with a magnificent 154 in the second ODI. He did not bat in the series finale, which India won by nine wickets, but his performances were enough to propel him three places up the rankings to No. 2.
The 25-year-old now boasts a career-best rating of 791 and trails New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell by just 24 rating points. With a white-ball series against England scheduled for mid-July, Gill will have an opportunity to claim the top spot for the first time in his career.
Virat Kohli, who missed the Afghanistan series because of a hamstring concern, slipped to third place. The former India captain is expected to return for the England tour subject to fitness clearance. Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, retained his fourth position after scoring 79 in the final ODI.
The biggest movement in the latest ICC rankings came in Test cricket.
New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry climbed to the top of the ICC Test bowling rankings after his match-winning performance against England, where he claimed 11 wickets, including five-fors in both innings of the second Test.
Henry now shares the No. 1 ranking with India’s Jasprit Bumrah, ending a 36-year wait for a New Zealand fast bowler to occupy the summit.
According to the ICC, Henry became only the third New Zealand pace bowler to achieve the feat after Jack Cowie and Sir Richard Hadlee.
Meanwhile, England batter Joe Root, who captained his team in the second Test against New Zealand in the absence of Ben Stokes, climbed to the top spot in the Test batting rankings, dethroning teammate Harry Brook. Root recently became only the second batter in the history of Test cricket to cross 14,000 runs, behind only the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. The England batter is now within touching distance of surpassing the former India cricketer – widely regarded as the greatest batter in the history of the sport.
