Mohammed Siraj reclaims the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings – Magazine Creations

He has moved up eight places after a brilliant outing in the Asia Cup after taking 6 wickets by giving away 21 runs in just 7 overs. Due to his spell of exceptional performance, added with Hardik Pandya 3 and Jasprit Bumrah 1, India wiped out the Sri Lankan innings in just 15.2 overs and the team is all out for a total of 50 runs.

While chasing 51 runs, both Ishan Kishan (23) and Shubman Gill (27) remained unbeaten and finished in just 6.1 overs.

Commenting on Siraj’s devastating spell in the 2023 championship title clash, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar took to his official X account, Akhtar wrote: “This is destruction and annihilation.”

Read also: ‘“This is destruction, annihilation”: Shoaib Akhtar praises Mohammed Siraj for his killer goal 6/21 in the 2023 Asian Cup final

Earlier in March, Siraj lost out on the top spot but has now overtaken star bowlers like Trent Boult, Rashid Khan and Mitchell Starc. His return to the top of the rankings is a big boost for India, considering that the World Cup will be held in India.

In recent months, he has become a real asset to the Indian bowling attack that India can rely on. Due to his recent performance, he has taken over the first-choice role in the starting lineup in place of Mohamed Al-Shami.

Not only Siraj, Afghan duo Mujibur Rahman and Rashid Khan also improved their rankings. Now, Mujibur Rahman is at number four in the ODI rankings, while Rashid Khan is at number five.

Other bowlers to improve in their rankings include South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj, who rose ten places to 15th in the rankings, reaching a career-high status.

Batting classifications:

In the latest ODI rankings, after an impressive tour against Australia in the fourth ODI, South Africa’s Heinrich Klaassen has broken into the top 10 (9th). While England’s Ben Stokes made a dramatic return to ODI cricket and rose to 36th in the world rankings.

Updated: Sep 20, 2023, 03:58 PM IST