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Shaheen Shah Afridi becomes the top-ranked ODI bowler for the first time

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  • Urdu version of the media release is attached here

Lahore, 1 November 2023: Shaheen Shah Afridi has claimed the top spot on the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings, following his impressive performances in the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup.

Shaheen is currently the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament, alongside Australia spinner Adam Zampa. The left-arm pacer has taken 16 wickets in seven matches, including an outstanding five wicket-haul that came against Australia in Bangaluru. He had a splendid outing with the ball against Bangladesh accounted for three valuable wickets at the expense of just 23 runs in nine overs.

The 23-year-old also completed 100 ODI wickets in the same game, becoming the fastest pace bowler to do so by getting to the milestone in 51 games, overtaking Mitchell Starc’s tally of 52 appearances for the three-figure mark. Overall, Shaheen is the third-fastest to 100 wickets in the format, behind Sandeep Lamichhane (42 matches) and Rashid Khan (44 matches).

This is the first time Shaheen has topped the bowler’s rankings in any of the formats. He has jumped up nine spots to attain the highest ranking. Concurrently, Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam continues to reign on top of the ODI Batting Rankings. He has been sitting on the top spot since achieving the feat back in April 2021.

This the first time since the introduction of the ICC ODI Player Rankings that a Pakistan batter and bowler dominate the rankings at the same time.

Meanwhile, right-arm pacer Haris Rauf has moved up five spots to become the 26th ranked ODI bowler. Imam-ul-Haq occupies the 11th spot among batters, while Fakhar Zaman has risen two spots to claim the 14th position after his stellar knock against Bangladesh, which yielded 81 from 74 deliveries and included three boundaries and seven maximums.

Pakistan’s leading run-getter in the World Cup, Mohammad Rizwan has advanced one position to 36th in the rankings for batters whereas Mohammad Wasim Jnr has vaulted 18 places to 56th in the bowling chart. Shadab Khan is tied on the 19th spot on the all-rounders rankings alongside Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga.

Pakistan are the third-ranked ODI team after the recent update. They are bested by India and Australia who claim the first and second spots respectively.