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In the latest ICC ODI Rankings, two massive moves involved Afghanistan all-rounder and ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year 2024, Azmatullah Omarzai reaching the number one spot among all-rounders and star India batter Virat Kohli moving to number four among batters.
The emergence of world-class talent Azmatullah Omarzai has been fast and furious. The Afghanistan all-rounder, who will turn just 25 later this month, is now at the top. Following a blistering ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign, which included a maiden five-wicket haul against England and a fifty against Australia, Omarzai has become the world's top-ranked all-rounder. In the CT 2025, Omarzai scored 126 runs in three innings at an average of 42.00, with an attacking 41 and five-wicket haul against England and a resilient 67 against Australia in the rain-hit final league stage match being the standouts. He scored his runs at a strike rate of over 104. He also took seven wickets in three matches at an average of 20.00, with best figures of 5/58. He also dethroned teammate Mohammad Nabi in the process, who drops to second on the list. The right-armer rose two spots and claimed a career-high rating points total of 296. India's Axar Patel was the other big all-rounder rise, moving up 17 spots to 13th and registering a career-high 194 ratings points. Omarzai was also one of the key climbers in the latest ODI batter rankings, off the back of his 126 total runs in the Champions Trophy. He moved up 12 spots to 24th (598 rating points). Afghanistan's Champions Trophy campaign allowed a number of their stars to blossom, as Ibrahim Zadran also made a bold climb up the batting rankings. The 23-year-old smashed 177 runs against England in Lahore, moving up 13 spots into 10th (676 rating points). Australia's Steve Smith also collected a good dose of rating points, climbing six spots to 16th after his batting contributions at the Champions Trophy, which included a half-century against India. Another high-profile veteran, Kiwi Kane Williamson, also made a move, climbing eight spots to 29th, following a gutsy 81 against India at Dubai. India opener Shubman Gill remains in the number four ranking for ODI batters, with teammate Virat Kohli moving up to fourth following his Player of the Match heroics against Australia in the Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai. In the ongoing Champions Trophy, Virat is the third-highest run-getter, with 217 runs in four innings at an average of 72.33, with a century and a fifty. New Zealander Matt Henry has been rewarded for his superb tournament, rising three spots and onto the podium of the bowling rankings. Henry is now in third (649 rating points), behind Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana (first) and South Africa tweaker Keshav Maharaj (second). The resurgence of Indian seamer Mohammed Shami at the Champions Trophy sees him move up three spots to 11th (609 rating points), while South Africa's Marco Jansen (up nine spots to 18th) and England's Jofra Archer (up 13 spots to equal 19th). (ANI)
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