KG officially the best in the world ahead of Champions Trophy
South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada is officially the number one ranked bowler in the world in ODIs as the teams gear up for the Champions Trophy, which starts in England on Thursday.
A right-arm paceman, Rabada took four for 39 against England at Lord’s on Monday to help the Proteas win by by seven wickets to claim a consolation victory as the hosts won the three-match series 2-1.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed on Tuesday that Rabada’s haul at Lord’s has seen him jump four places in the player rankings and sits ahead of second-placed teammate Imran Tahir.
The 22-year-old Rabada, who finished the England series with seven wickets, has become the youngest number-one ranked bowler since Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq in 1998.
With captain AB de Villiers top-ranked among the batsmen, South Africa now has the top two bowlers as well as four players in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen – Quinton de Kock (fourth), Faf du Plessis (sixth) and Hashim Amla (10th) being the others.
The intense competition in the individual rankings justifies the tournament’s name as players from the eight participating teams feature prominently in it and not much separates the top players in the fray.
The top three batsmen – de Villiers, David Warner and Virat Kohli are separated by just 22 points while only 23 points separate the top three bowlers – Rabada, Tahir and Mitchell Starc.
ODI Bowlers (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Eco
1 (+4) K. Rabada SA 724 24.90 5.13
2 (-1) Imran Tahir SA 722 24.18 4.67
3 (-1) Mitchell Starc Aus 701 19.88 4.81
4 (-1) Sunil Narine WI 690 26.46 4.12
5 (+1) J. Hazlewood Aus 684 25.18 4.65
6 (-2) Trent Boult NZ 683 24.85 4.98
7 ( – ) Chris Woakes Eng 645 31.56 5.59
8 ( – ) M. Nabi Afg 622 32.33 4.32
9 (+1) S. Al Hasan Ban 620 28.74 4.38
10 (+1) M. Santner NZ 617*! 32.20 4.95
11= (-2) Matt Henry NZ 615 25.26 5.62
( – ) Akshar Patel Ind 615* 30.20 4.38
13 ( – ) Amit Mishra Ind 609* 23.60 4.72
14 (+1) M. Mortaza Ban 601 30.11 4.75
15 (+3) M. Rahman Ban 600*! 16.00 4.62
16 (+7) Liam Plunkett Eng 597* 31.13 5.73
17 (-1) Jason Holder WI 590 32.90 5.44
18= (-1) Dale Steyn SA 579 26.62 4.94
(+2) R. Ashwin Ind 579 32.37 4.91
20 (-6) Adil Rashid Eng 576 34.12 5.68
Batsmen (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge
1 ( – ) AB de Villiers SA 874 54.38
2 ( – ) David Warner Aus 871 44.84
3 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 852 53.11
4 (+2) Q. de Kock SA 776 43.71
5 (-1) Joe Root Eng 772 47.89
6 (-1) Faf du Plessis SA 765 43.34
7= (+1) Babar Azam Pak 762*! 55.08
( – ) Martin Guptill NZ 762 43.66
9 ( – ) K. Williamson NZ 742 45.90
10 (+1) Hashim Amla SA 734 50.22
11 (-1) Steve Smith Aus 733 43.67
12 ( – ) Rohit Sharma Ind 717 41.37
13 ( – ) MS Dhoni Ind 712 50.96
14 ( – ) Ross Taylor NZ 701 44.01
15 (-1) S. Dhawan Ind 690 42.91
16 ( – ) Alex Hales Eng 667 37.86
17= (+5) Eoin Morgan Eng 646 38.10
( – ) Jos Buttler Eng 646 36.40
19 ( – ) Tamim Iqbal Ban 642! 33.43
20 ( – ) M. Hafeez Pak 632 32.73
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