South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj has regained the No.1 position in the last ICC ODI rankings for bowlers. He picked up a stunning five-wicket haul in the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia on Tuesday (August 19) and has been immediately rewarded.
South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has regained his No.1 spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for bowlers. He has been immediately rewarded for his sensational five-wicket haul picked in the first ODI against Australia played at the Cazalys Stadium in Cairns on Tuesday (August 19).
For the unversed, Maharaj returned with figures of 5/33 in his 10 overs, nipping out all the middle-order batters of the opposition – Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, and Aaron Hardie. He picked up a five-for in the fifth over of his spell, triggering collapse for the home who were left reeling from being 60/0 to 89/6 in the space of nine overs.ย
Coming back to the rankings, Maharaj jumped two places with 687 rating points and trumped Maheesh Theekshana and India’s Kuldeep Yadav to become the world number one bowler in world cricket in the 50-over format. Kuldeep has slipped to third place as India have not played a single ODI since the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
What about rankings of other Indian bowlers?
Interestingly, without playing any ODI in the last five months, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have gained a spot each and are in 13th, 14th, and 15th position in the latest rankings, respectively. Apart from Kuldeep, the only other Indian bowler in the top 10 is Ravindra Jadeja who is placed ninth with 616 rating points to show for his credit.
Latest ICC rankings for bowlers in ODIs
| Rank | Players | Rating Points |
| 1 | Keshav Maharaj (South Africa) | 687 |
| 2 | Maheesh Theekshana (Sri Lanka) | 671 |
| 3 | Kuldeep Yadav (India) | 650 |
| 4 | Bernard Scholtz (Namibia | 644 |
| 5 | Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) | 640 |
Shubman Gill continues to be on top of ODI rankings
Meanwhile, India’s Shubman Gill continues to be on top of the rankings in the 50-over format with 784 rating points. The gap between him and second placed Babar Azam has now increased to 45 points after the latter failed to make an impact in the ODI series against the West Indies.
Shai Hope of the West Indies slammed a century in the third ODI and has jumped two spots to seventh with 699 ratings.
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