Maheesh Theekshana becomes first time No. 1 | For Gill this is the second time

Shubman Gill and Maheesh Theekshana have become the new No. 1 men’s ODI batter and bowler respectively in the ICC rankings update released on the opening day of the Champions Trophy. Gill has gone past Babar Azam on his list, while Theekshana has gone past Rashid Khan on his.

This is the second time Gill has held the No.1 ranking in ODI cricket, with the India batter having also gone past Babar to claim top spot midway through the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023. 

Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana, meanwhile, has taken the first position in the ODI rankings for bowlers as he replaced Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan. 

However, Theekshana is unlikely to stay at the numero uno position for long with Sri Lanka not playing ODI cricket for the next three weeks when eight other teams including Rashid’s Afghanistan will be involved in the ICC Champions Trophy. 

Sri Lanka didn’t qualify for the showpiece event along with the West Indies and will be the spectators of the action in Pakistan and Dubai till March 9.

Rashid will be playing at least three matches in the Champions Trophy which gives him a chance to reclaim his No.1 position in the ICC ODI rankings for the bowlers. 

Meanwhile, India’s Kuldeep Yadav is also a contender to improve his rankings he is currently sitting in fourth place with 652 rating points.

Even he is expected to play at least three matches with India scheduled to face Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand in the group stage. 

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has dropped a place to fifth after a not-so-great tri-series at home but will be keen on making amends in the Champions Trophy starting today.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner is the newest entrant in the top 10 as he climbed five places to be at seventh in the latest rankings update. 

He was exceptional with his left-arm spin in the tri-series picking up five wickets in three matches while keeping a lid of the run-scoring as well.