
Bad news for Pakistan's Babar Azam, India captain Rohit Sharma has replaced him at No 2 position but number one is…
Pakistan's Babar Azam had a ODI series to forget against the West Indies. The former Pakistan captain returned to international cricket after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 debacle earlier this year but only managed to score 56 runs in the 3 games. Pakistan also lost an ODI series to West Indies for the first time after 34 years.
Babar Azam's lean patch in the ODI series against West Indies means that the former world No. 1 batter has slipped down one position to the No. 3 slot in the latest ICC ODI rankings announced on Wednesday. Babar's loss is India's gain as ODI skipper Rohit Sharma has now become the No. 2-ranked ODI batter in the ICC rankings.
It also means that Team India now have the No. 1 and 2 ranked batters in the ICC ODI rankings. While Rohit is at the second spot, the top-ranked batter is new India Test captain Shubman Gill. The Indian opener has 784 points to Rohit Sharma's 756 while Babar Azam has slipped to 751 points now.
Imposing batting displays from the #AUSvSA series cause major shuffle in the latest ICC Men's Player Rankings 👊https://t.co/ovGtB78M5T
— ICC (@ICC) August 13, 2025
Former India captain Virat Kohli is in No. 4 position in the ICC ODI rankings, which means India have 3 batters in the top 4 positions. Shreyas Iyer is the other Indian batter in the top 10 position, currently occupying the No. 8 slot. When are Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli going to return to international cricket?
Team India veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already announced their retirements from T20I and Test cricket. Rohit and Virat are only available to play in ODI cricket.
After the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 triumph earlier this year, India's next ODI series is scheduled in October against world champions Australia down under. It is expected that both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be part of Team India squad for the three-match ODI series against Australia. It will probably be the final time that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be seen in international cricket in Australia. Team India batters dominate ICC T20I rankings too
India are currently dominant in the ICC T20I batting rankings as well. Opener Abhishek Sharma continued to remain at the no. 1 position while Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma is currently in 2nd place.
Both Indian batters are expected to be part of Team India's squad for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament starting in UAE on September 9.
In-form stars from Australia and South Africa have been the big winners and reached new career-high ratings following the latest update to the ICC men's T20I Player Rankings. Australia's Tim David is the leading run-scorer across the opening two matches of the T20I series between Australia and South Africa and the hard-hitting right-hander has improved six spots to jump to 10th overall for T20I batters with a new career-high rating as a result.
His teammate Cameron Green also gains six spots to rise to 17th on the same list, while youngster Dewald Brevis is the big winner from a South African perspective following his record-breaking exploits in the second game of the series in Darwin. Brevis exploded with a superb innings of 125 as the Proteas squared the three-match series against the Aussies at 1-1 and rocketed up the T20I Batting Rankings from outside the top 100 to 21st as a result.
It was the highest T20I score by any South African men's batter and the highest ever against Australia in what was Brevis's ninth T20I appearance for his country. South African teammate Tristan Stubbs (up 12 spots to equal 27th) also makes some gains for T20I batters, while Josh Hazlewood (up three spots to 20th), Kagiso Rabada (up 15 places to equal 44th) and Lungi Ngidi (up 14 rungs to 50th) are the improvers in the latest rankings for T20I bowlers.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Shubman Gill unlikely for Asia Cup squad as Ajit Agarkar all set to reward Shreyas Iyer: Report
Ajit Agarkar and the rest of the All India Men's Senior Selection Committee will convene on Tuesday, August 19, to pick the squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. Suryakumar Yadav has cleared the fitness Test and is all set to lead India in the eight-team tournament, beginning September 9. There are several major decisions in front of the selectors. However, the biggest question is whether there can be a place for Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The selectors will pick the Asia Cup squad on Tuesday, August 19. (AFP) Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have made the most of their chances in the shortest format. Hence, there are no grounds for dropping them. However, Shubman Gill (Test captain) and Jaiswal are two of the biggest names in Indian cricket right now. Hence, it needs to be seen whether the selectors are willing to take a brave call and keep the duo out for now. According to a report in Sportstar, the selectors are all set to make a bold call and leave Gill and Jaiswal out of the squad for the Asia Cup. Ajit Agarkar is all set to retain the core group that has excelled under Gambhir in T20Is recently. The Asia Cup ends on September 28, and the first Test against the West Indies begins on October 2. Considering the turnaround period, the selectors are likely to keep Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal fresh for the red-ball assignments. The same report states that Shreyas Iyer and Jitesh Sharma are likely to earn call-ups into the Asia Cup squad. In IPL 2025, Jitesh Sharma impressed one and all with his big-hitting exploits for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who won their maiden title. Also Read: Shubman Gill for Asia Cup may look tempting, but it could severely backfire on Team India in more ways than one Shreyas Iyer led Punjab Kings to the IPL final, but they fell short against RCB in the summit clash. Neither Jitesh nor Shreyas has played in T20Is since Gautam Gambhir took over as the head coach. Shreyas last played a T20I in December 2023, while Jitesh made his last appearance in January 2024. Why pick Shreyas Iyer? According to the report, the selectors want an experienced middle-order batter in the conditions of the UAE for the Asia Cup. Hence, Shreyas Iyer is all but set to be picked. It must be mentioned that the right-handed batter played a crucial role in the UAE in the Champions Trophy 2025, which India eventually won after beating New Zealand in the summit clash. If Shreyas is indeed picked, then one between Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh might have to be dropped. Both Dube and Rinku were part of India's squad for the five-match T20I series against England in January 2025. Suryakumar Yadav will be attending the selection meeting for the Asia Cup. The tournament will begin on September 9 with India playing their first match on September 10 against the UAE. India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, UAE and Oman.


India Today
8 minutes ago
- India Today
Babar and Rizwan aren't Pakistan's key players; they don't win you matches: Hafeez
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has slammed Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez, saying that calling them key players of the team would be unfair as they haven't won any match for the team in a long time. Both Babar and Rizwan failed to find a place in the 17-member squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the 2025 Asia duo last featured in the shortest format on the tour of South Africa and has been out of contention ever since. Recently, while sharing his thoughts on Pakistan's Asia Cup squad, Mohammad Hafeez said that both Babar and Rizwan don't carry the tag of being key players of their team anymore due to the lack of match-winning performances.'Calling them key players would be wrong and unfair. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are not Pakistan cricket's key players at the moment. Key players are those who win matches for Pakistan,' said Hafeez on his YouTube Channel. Both Babar and Rizwan have been criticised for their poor performances in the ICC events since 2022 as they haven't lived up to the reputation of being the team's senior-most Hafeez, who's also served as the director of cricket for Pakistan's men's team, mentioned Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz as consistent performers for the team. He also criticised Naseem Shah and Shahen Afridi for not giving match-winning performances.'If we look at the past year and a half to two years, the players showing consistent performance are Salman Ali Agha, Saim Ayub and Hasan Nawaz. Why aren't we talking about them? They are the current players winning matches for Pakistan. The same goes for Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, they are also not giving match-winning performances for Pakistan,' he Salman Ali Agha will continue to lead the Pakistan T20I side, while Shaheen Shah Afridi retains his place after making his return during the West Indies tour, following a brief absence in the Bangladesh will participate in a T20I tri-series also featuring Afghanistan and hosts UAE. The series kicks off on August 29 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, followed by the Asia Cup, which starts from September 9.- EndsTrending Reel


Time of India
17 minutes ago
- Time of India
India's golden arm Neeraj Chopra qualifies for Diamond League 2025 Final in Zurich despite skipping Silesia leg
Neeraj Chopra (PTI Photo) Neeraj Chopra has secured his position in the men's javelin throw event at the Diamond League 2025 Final in Zurich, Switzerland. This confirmation comes from the latest standings released after the Silesia leg on Saturday. Despite not participating in the Silesia Diamond League, Chopra's 15 points from two Diamond League appearances this season have guaranteed his spot in the finale. The championship-deciding men's javelin final is scheduled for August 28. The 27-year-old Indian athlete has demonstrated exceptional performance this year. He won the Paris leg with an 88.16m throw and achieved a national record of 90.23m in Doha, where he finished second to Germany's Julian Weber. Chopra and Weber are currently tied at 15 points in second place. Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago leads the standings with 17 points from three events, including a second-place finish in Silesia with 82.54m. The Zurich final is likely to feature two-time world champion Anderson Peters and Brazil's Luiz Mauricio Da Silva among the competitors. Chopra, who won the Diamond League trophy in 2022 and was runner-up in 2023 and 2024, has not yet officially confirmed his participation in the Zurich Final. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem, the Paris 2024 Olympics gold medalist, has chosen not to participate in this year's Diamond League circuit. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!