Pakistani fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has surpassed Australia’s Josh Hazlewood to claim the top spot in the latest ICC ODI players’ rankings. He achieved this after his remarkable performance of 3/23 against Bangladesh in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.

This left-arm pacer had recently broken Mitchell Starc’s record for the quickest pace bowler to reach 100 ODI wickets and currently shares the title of the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing CWC 2023 tournament with Adam Zampa, both boasting 16 wickets each.

Shaheen’s exceptional three-wicket haul played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s 7-wicket victory over Bangladesh, keeping their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. As a result of his outstanding performance, he climbed nine places in the ICC ODI bowling rankings to secure the no.1 position. This marks the first time Afridi has held the top rank in any format.

Josh Hazlewood of Australia slid to second place, while India’s Mohammed Siraj dropped to third, and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj fell to fourth, all due to Shaheen’s ascent. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav (seventh) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (eighth) both made significant gains by moving up two places within the top 10.

With Babar Azam holding the top position in the ODI batting rankings, Pakistan now boasts the no.1 ranked players in both ODI bowling and batting rankings.

Babar Azam has accumulated 216 runs from seven innings at the World Cup, distancing himself from India’s Shubman Gill, who has only managed 104 runs from four outings. In other movements, Australia’s David Warner has risen one place to fourth with 413 runs at the World Cup, and India’s captain Rohit Sharma has climbed three spots to fifth after amassing 398 runs in the tournament.

Bangladesh’s captain Shakib Al Hasan continues to lead the rankings for ODI all-rounders, while Marco Jansen moved up two places to ninth, and New Zealand’s young talent Rachin Ravindra ascended by 14 spots to 17th.