Siraj races to No. 1 after astonishing Asia Cup display

PHOTO: ICC

The latest ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings update sees major movements at the back of some exceptional performances.

Mohammed Siraj’s rampage that dismissed Sri Lanka for 50 in Colombo has helped him top the charts of the Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings. The Asia Cup-winning spell of 6-21 has returned him to the No.1 position, a place he last occupied in March 2023, before being displaced by Josh Hazlewood.

Siraj finished with 10 wickets at an average of 12.2 in the tournament. This helped him jump eight spots in the latest ranking update and overtake the likes of Hazlewood, Trent Boult, Rashid Khan and Mitchell Starc. 

The Afghan spin duo of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid also improved their rankings to No.4 and No.5 respectively. They were the only others to go up in the top 10.

Outside that space, South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj made great gains after returning from his injury. 

Maharaj helped the Proteas become just the fifth side to win a five-match ODI series after losing the first two games. The left-arm spinner’s 4-33 in the fifth ODI gave him eight wickets in the series at 16.87 apiece, at an economy of just 4.07 per over. He is currently at 15th, up ten places from his previous career-high.

Major gains were also seen in Batting Rankings. Heinrich Klaasen of South Africa bludgeoned an all-time destructive ODI knock against Australia in the fourth ODI. 

No one has scored more runs in an ODI innings at a higher strike-rate than Klaasen’s 174 at 209.64 in Centurion. It helped South Africa to a 164-run win and moved Klaasen 20 places in the Men’s ODI Batting Rankings. He is now placed in ninth.

Dawid Malan was electric in England’s ODI series against New Zealand, being the highest run-scorer with 277 runs at an average of 92.33 and a strike-rate of 105.72. The batter, who spent 357 days at No.1 spot in the T20I Batting Rankings earlier in his career, is placed at a career-best 13th place in the ODI Rankings. 

Malan’s compatriot Ben Stokes, who celebrated his ODI comeback with a blistering 182 at The Oval, has reached the 36th place in the ODI Batting Rankings.