India Batter Replaces Babar Azam To Claim No. 1 ODI Ranking Before Champions Trophy 2025

Just before the start of the Champions Trophy, India has received a huge boost, as their vice-captain has replaced Pakistan’s former captain, Babar Azam, as the number one ranked batter in the ICC Men’s ODI ranking.

Babar didn’t contribute much in the recent tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa. The right-handed batter smashed 62 runs in three innings at an average of 20.67, shouldering on the best score of 29.

India's Shubman Gill overtakes Babar Azam as the number one ICC ODI batter

India’s right-handed batter, Shubman Gill, has dodged Babar to become the top-ranked ODI batter in the world. He was in tremendous form during the recent three-match ODI series against England at home, with two half-centuries in Nagpur and Cuttack, before celebrating a fine century in the third fixture at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

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Gill cracked 259 runs in three innings at an average of 86.33 and a strike rate of 103.60. It’s a huge boost for the blue bride, who hopes to add another ICC title to their bag after nearly nine months. That’s the second time Gill has held the No. 1 ranking in the ODI format, with the batter going past Babar during the 2023 ODI World Cup.

The former Pakistan captain drops to second place and 23 rating points behind the new topper. Rohit Sharma, who smashed a fine century in Cuttack, is in the third spot and 45 rating points behind the following opener. Daryl Mitchell has gone up two places to fifth, while Sri Lanka’s captain, Charith Asalanka, has climbed up to the eighth position.

Pakistan’s right-handed batter, Salman Ali Agha, has jumped 24 spots to 48 after his fine outing with the bat in the recent tri-nation series.

Sri Lanka’s spinner dodges Rashid Khan to claim No. 1 ODI bowling rank

The mystery spinner of Sri Lanka, Mahesh Theekshana, has jumped to the top rank of the ICC bowling ranking, going past Afghanistan’s T20I captain Rashid Khan, who will have a great chance to get the number one spot back in the Champions Trophy, since the Island side is not part of the eight-team event.

Theekshana got the spot after his four-wicket haul against Australia in Colombo. India’s left-arm wrist spinner, Kuldeep Yadav, has gone up one place to the fourth position among the ODI bowlers.

South Africa’s left-arm spin bowling all-rounder, Keshav Maharaj, has re-entered the rankings in sixth, while New Zealand’s white-ball captain, Mitchell Santner, has crossed four rungs to seventh after making ground this week. Namibia’s Bernard Scholtz is at the third spot with 662 points in the list, as Mohammad Siraj, despite not playing in the ICC event, is at the 10th position.

Mohammad Nabi retains the number 1 ODI ranking among the all-rounders

The left-arm Kiwi spinner, Santer, has gone up one place to sixth in the list of ODI all-rounder, where Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi holds the top spot with 300 rating points. Sikandar Raza is at the second position with 288 points, followed by Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai.

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The best all-rounder for India in the ODI ranking is Ravindra Jadeja, who is in the tenth spot with 217 points. Hardik Pandya comes next for the blue bride in the list, at the 28th position.

All the spinners will have a huge job in hand going into the Champions Trophy, especially India, who will play all of their games on the used and slow surfaces at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).