Fresh from a match-winning spell of 6 for 21 to help India clinch their eighth Asia Cup title by beating Sri Lanka in Sunday’s final in Colombo, pacer Mohammad Siraj has re-grabbed the number one position among bowlers in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings.
According to a statement from the International Cricket Council (ICC), 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.
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj also gained big in the latest weekly update, jumping 10 places to reach the 15th position. 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.
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.
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.