Theekshana becomes first time No. 1 bowler
Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill and Sri Lanka spinner 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 on Wednesday, according to ESPNcricinfo.
Gill has gone past Pakistan's Babar Azam on his list, while Theekshana has gone past Afghanistan's Rashid Khan on his.
Gill had an excellent time of it in the home ODI series against England, which India won 3-0, with scores of 87, 60 and 112, which made him the top run-getter in the series, his 259 runs coming at an average of 86.33 and a strike rate of 103.60. The next highest scorer, Shreyas Iyer, was 78 behind Gill with 181 runs.
This is the second time Gill has gone to the top of the pile in ODI cricket - the previous occasion was during the ODI World Cup in 2023.
Gill's rise has pushed Babar to second place. Gill has 796 rating points, while Babar has 773.
They are followed in the top five by Rohit Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Daryl Mitchell, who has moved up two places after the tri-series in Pakistan where he scored 81, 10 and 57.
Following the two-ODI series against England, Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka has moved up eight spots to No. 8, while Mohammad Rizwan, the Pakistan captain, has reached 15th place.
Maheesh Theekshana became the seventh Sri Lanka bowler to bag an ODI hat-trick, New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I, Hamilton, January 8, 2025
Sri Lanka are not a part of the Champions Trophy, having missed out on qualification, but along with Asalanka, Theekshana made the most of the two-ODI series at home against Australia, returning 4 for 40 and none for 11.
