Mohammed Siraj Becomes World No 1 ODI Bowler After Asia Cup 2023 Final Heroics

Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj jumped 8 places to become the new No. 1-ranked ODI bowler in the latest ICC rankings.

Mohammed Siraj. (Photo: ANI)

Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj made a massive jump of eight places and has now become the world No. 1 bowler in the ICC ODI Rankings announced on Wednesday. Siraj now has 694 rating points and has now toppled Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood to zoom to top spot.

Siraj claimed 6/21, including the fastest-ever five-wicket haul in ODI cricket, to help Team India bundle out Sri Lanka for just 50 in the Asia Cup 2023 Final. India hammered the Lankans by 10 wickets to become Asia Cup champions for the eighth time on Sunday.

The Team India and Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer was in 9th position in the rankings last week. His teammate Shubman Gill has also closed the gap to the No. 1-batter Babar Azam at the top of ICC ODI ranking for the batters.

Gill now has 814 rating points, just 43 points behind Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who has 857 points. The Indian opener ended the Asia Cup 2023 as the highest run-getter with over 300 runs.

Siraj, who first grabbed the top position in January this year and was displaced by Josh Hazlewood in March, has surged eight spots after his memorable performance that helped dismiss the hosts for just 50 runs and enabled India to complete a 10-wicket victory.

Mohammed Siraj becomes the number 1 ranked ODI bowler.

- The Miyan Magic in ODIs. pic.twitter.com/b6HXFb2QXC

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 20, 2023

South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is another big mover in the latest weekly update that comes just over a fortnight ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and considers performances in the last two matches of the South Africa versus Australia series and the England versus New Zealand series apart from the Asia Cup.

Maharaj, who helped South Africa become just the fifth team to win a five-match ODI series after losing the first two matches, had figures of four for 33 in the final match that helped him finish with eight wickets in the series and reach 15th position, 10 places above his previous career best.

Other bowlers to move up the rankings include Afghanistan spinners Mujeeb-ur Rahman (up two places to fourth) and Rashid Khan (up three places to fifth). England all-rounder Chris Woakes is up to 11th place while South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi is in 21st position.

South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen and England’s Dawid Malan are big movers in the batting charts. Klaasen’s cracking 174 against Australia in Centurion has lifted him into the top 10 for the first time while Malan is at a career-best 13th position after scoring 277 runs in the three matches he played in the series.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has gained 13 spots and moved into 36th position with the bat after recording England’s highest ever score of 182 at The Oval. South Africa’s David Miller (up four places to 17th), Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka (up two places to 28th), Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hassan (up five places to joint-29th) and Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey (up three places to joint-29th) are among the others to move up the batting rankings.

Siraj will next be seen in action in the three-match ODI series against Australia beginning in Mohali on Friday. After the ODI series, Siraj and Team India will begin their ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8.