Cricket star Sikandar Raza has climbed to the top of the world rankings becoming the ICC’s No. 1 allrounder in One Day Internationals (ODIs) for the first time in his career.
Raza’s rise follows a stellar series against Sri Lanka in Harare where he scored 92 runs in the opening ODI and an unbeaten 59 in the second alongside claiming a wicket.
His consistency pushed him past Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai and veteran Mohammad Nabi who now occupy second and third place respectively.
There was also movement at the top of the ODI bowling rankings.
South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj claimed the outright No. 1 spot after a devastating spell of 4 for 22 in his side’s victory over England in Leeds.
He edged past Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana, who had shared the position with him.
Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka named Player of the Series against Zimbabwe with 198 runs surged seven places to 13th among ODI batters.
Teammate Janith Liyanage climbed 13 spots to 29th, while Sean Williams moved up three places to 47th.
In T20 internationals, Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran jumped 12 places to 20th while Sediqullah Atal made one of the biggest leaps in recent memory, soaring 346 places to 127th after strong performances against Pakistan and UAE in a tri-series.
Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz entered the top 40 batters at joint-31st while bowlers Sufiyan Muqeem (22nd), Shaheen Shah Afridi (26th) and Mohammad Nawaz (43rd) all improved their standings.
Raza’s achievement marks a milestone for Zimbabwe cricket with fans hailing it as proof of his world-class status.
