LAHORE - Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Australia’s explosive opener Travis Head have both made significant strides, entering the prestigious Top 10 in the update to the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings. The rankings are currently led by Pakistan’s batting maestro, Babar Azam.
Gurbaz played a crucial role in Afghanistan’s historic achievement of their first-ever ODI series victory over South Africa, finishing the three-match series as the highest run-scorer. He amassed a total of 194 runs at an impressive average of 64.66, bouncing back after a disappointing duck in the series opener.
His performance included a remarkable century in the second ODI and a stellar 89 runs in the third ODI, despite Afghanistan facing a seven-wicket defeat. As a result, Gurbaz soared 10 places to eighth, marking a milestone as the first Afghanistan player to break into the Top 10 of the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings with 692 rating points.
On the other hand, Travis Head climbed seven spots to ninth place, with a total of 684 rating points, following a dazzling unbeaten 154-run innings against England in the first ODI of their ongoing five-match series.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam continues to reign supreme at the top of the ODI rankings with an impressive 824 rating points, comfortably ahead of India’s Rohit Sharma, who sits in second place with 765 points. Sharma is closely pursued by his compatriots Shubman Gill (763) and Virat Kohli (746).
In addition to the ODI rankings, the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings also saw noteworthy changes, with India’s returning wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant re-entering the Top 10 after scoring a well-crafted century in the second innings of the first Test against Bangladesh. Pant now holds the sixth position, while England’s Joe Root remains at the top. Conversely, India’s skipper Rohit Sharma, who struggled with two single-digit scores in the recent match, fell five places to tenth, allowing Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan to rise to eighth, while Babar Azam remains just outside the Top 10 at eleventh.
