Babar Azam suffered a setback before Champions Trophy 2025, Shubman Gill snatched the number-1 crown
ICC ODI Ranking: Pakistan's star batsman Babar Azam has suffered a major setback before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Shubman Gill has overtaken Babar Azam to become the new number-1 batsman in the world in the ICC ODI International rankings.
Shubman Gill has one notable advantage before the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, for the opener from India has pushed Pakistan's Babar Azam aside for the new world number-1 batsman tag under the latest ICC ODI International rankings announced on Wednesday. This is the second time when Gill has attained the number 1 tag under the ICC rankings. Surprisingly, the earlier instance when Gill attained the highest level was when the ODI World Cup took place during the year 2023, and after this, Gill pushed aside Babar Azam. Currently, before the Champions Trophy, the vice-captain from India is playing great cricket. He has scored two fifties and one hundred during the three-game ODI series against England played at home.
His seventh ODI century in Ahmedabad during the third match against England was enough to take him to the top of the ICC rankings. Now Babar Azam has slipped to second place. He is 23 points behind Gill. India captain Rohit Sharma remains in third place due to his century in the Cuttack ODI.
New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell (5th) and Sri Lanka's Charith Asalanka (8th) have entered the top 10. While Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan moved up six places to 15th. The New Zealand pair of Devon Conway (35th) and Glenn Phillips (41st) have also gained good positions after their performance in the tri-series.
