ICC ODI Rankings: Shubman Gill achieves career-best second position; three Indian batters in top-10 after 4 years

ICC ODI Rankings: Rising India batter Shubman Gill continues to reduce his gap with Pakistan star batter Babar Azam in the latest ICC Men's ODI Batter Rankings. The young opener has climbed to the second spot in the latest rankings with back-to-back fifties.

A large group of Indian cricketers made ground in the latest update following their unbeaten campaign in the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. India - the seven-time Asia Cup champions - have defeated Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the continental showpiece so far and qualified for the finals.

With their performance, Pakistan's stranglehold at the top of the ICC Men's ODI Batter Rankings is under threat. A dominant top order has been led superbly by Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma in the Asia Cup 2023. Asia Cup 2023: Virat Kohli 'cuddling celebration' with Rohit Sharma during IND vs SL match is melting hearts

Gill, who has scored a total of 154 runs in the competition, has been rewarded in the latest rankings by rising to a career-best second place with just Pakistan skipper Babar Azam ahead of him. The 24-year-old batter has closed the margin considerably on the Babar, with the gap at the top down to just 103 rating points.

Babar leads the way with 863 rating points and the India opener now has 759 points in the latest update on Wednesday (September 13). The youngster, however, failed to leave a mark in the match against Sri Lanka, yesterday, where he could only score 15.

Indian batters in top 10 in ICC Rankings

Gill isn't the only India star on the move, with Kohli rising two places to eighth and Rohit jumping two spots of his own to ninth on the latest batter rankings.

Team India now has three players inside the top 10 for the first time in more than four and a half years. The last time three Indian players were this high in the ICC rankings for batters was back at the start of 2019. Opener Shikhar Dhawan joined Rohit and the then-skipper Virat inside the top 10 way back in January of 2019, which was also a World Cup year.

Pakistani batters in top-10 of ICC ODI Rankings

Pakistan still have three players of their own inside the top 10 batters, but Imam ul Haq drops one place to fifth and fellow opener Fakhar Zaman loses three spots and is now 10th.

Kuldeep Yadav back in Top-10 ODI Bowlers

Experienced India spinner Kuldeep Yadav - who has played a key role in his team's success in the Asia Cup - has also made some ground on the updated list for ODI bowlers.

The left-arm spinner has risen five places to seventh on the back of his nine wickets in two games at the Asia Cup. While his fellow teammate Hardik Pandya has improved four places to jump to sixth on the ODI all-rounder rankings.

There was also some joy for Pakistan's bowlers on the rankings update, with pace duo Haris Rauf (up eight places to 21st) and Naseem Shah (up 11 spots to equal 51st) improving dramatically despite picking up a niggling injuries during their most recent encounter against India.

No.1 ODI Bowler in ICC Rankings

Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood has increased his lead at the top of the ODI bowler rankings following a three-wicket haul in the first match of their ongoing series with South Africa, while a host of his teammates and Proteas stars also make ground. South African spin duo of Keshav Maharaj (up 10 places to 25th) and Tabraiz Shamsi (up 15 spots to equal 29th) also improved on the list for ODI bowlers.

Following his impressive century in the series opener against Aussies in Bloemfontein, Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma jumped a whopping 21 places to 11th and a new career-high rating on the rankings for ODI batters.

Veteran Australia batter David Warner jumped one place to fourth on the updated batter rankings after his quickfire half-century in the third match against South Africa. While his fellow left-hander Travis Head shot up six spots to 20th on the same list.

While T20I cricket is taking somewhat of a backseat during the lead-up to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India, there is some movement on the rankings following the completion of England's home series against New Zealand.