Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi can now lay claim to be the best ODI bowlerin the world after the Pakistan spearhead capped off an impressive start tothe ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup by rising to the No 1 ranking onthe latest ODI bowling rankings.
Afridi has been in sensational touch for Pakistan at the Cricket World Cupand is currently the joint leading wicket-taker for the tournamentalongside Australia spinner Adam Zampa, with the duo having taken 16 scalpsapiece.
The tall left-armer took another three wickets during Pakistan’s emphatictriumph over Bangladesh in Kolkata on Tuesday to keep his side’s semi-finalhopes alive, and it also helped catapult the 23-year-old past nine of hiscontemporaries to claim the mantle as the No 1 ranked ODI bowler.Men’s ODI Bowling Rankings
Australia’s Josh Hazlewood (second), India’s Mohammed Siraj (third) andSouth Africa’s Keshav Maharaj (fourth) all lose one place courtesy ofAfridi’s nine-spot jump, with spin duo Kuldeep Yadav (seventh) and MujeebUr Rahman (eighth) both gaining two places inside the top 10.
It is the first time that Afridi has held the No 1 ranking in any formatand means Pakistan players simultaneously cling on to the top spot in twoODI categories as skipper Babar Azam maintains his narrow lead at the headof the corresponding batting list.
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But Babar’s lead at the top of the ODI batter rankings is down to just tworating points, with the Pakistan captain almost paying the price for aninnings of just nine runs against Bangladesh.
The right-hander has a total of 216 runs from seven innings at the WorldCup and his closest challenger in India’s Shubman Gill has not yet beenable to capitalise with just 104 runs from four knocks.