Zimbabwean star Sikandar Raja has climbed two spots in the ODI all-rounders ranking, reflecting his consistent performance with the bat, even though his bowling against Sri Lanka wasn’t as effective. This marks the first time Raja has reached the top of the ODI all-rounders list.
In the weekly update of men’s player rankings released on Wednesday, Raja surpassed Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai. Raja now has a rating of 302, while Omarzai and Nabi drop to second and third with 296 and 292 points respectively. Bangladesh’s Mehedi Hasan Miraz remains fourth (249), followed by New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell (246).
Previously, Raja’s career-best in the ODI all-rounder list was second, which he first achieved in December 2023.
Despite Zimbabwe being whitewashed in the two-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, Raja shone individually. In the first match, he took 1 wicket for 48 runs with his off-spin and then scored a 92-run innings off 87 balls, narrowly missing victory as Zimbabwe fell short by seven runs.
In the second ODI, Raja scored 59 unbeaten off 55 balls, including 1 six and 5 fours, though he couldn’t take any wickets. Sri Lanka won that match by 5 wickets.
Raja also advanced nine spots in the ODI batsmen ranking to a career-best 22nd, making him the highest-ranked Zimbabwean batsman. In the bowling rankings, he moved up one spot to 38th.
Other notable movers include Zimbabwe’s Ben Curran, who scored fifties in both ODIs (70 & 79) and jumped 71 places to 90th, while Sri Lanka’s opener Pathum Nissanka climbed seven spots to 13th after scores of 76 and 122. His teammate Janith Liyanage rose 13 spots to 29th.
South Africa’s Aiden Markram moved up three spots to 20th in the batsmen list after scoring 86 in the first ODI against England, with India’s Shubman Gill still holding the top spot.
In the bowlers’ rankings, South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj reclaimed the top spot after taking 4 wickets against England, with 690 rating points, 31 ahead of Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana (659). England’s Jofra Archer moved up six spots to 19th, while South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi improved five spots to 23rd. Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando rose six spots to 31st.
Other movers include Sri Lanka’s Dilshan Madushanka, who took a hat-trick in the first ODI against Zimbabwe and jumped eight spots to 52nd, and teammate Dushmantha Chameera, up ten spots to 90th.
The tri-nation T20I series also influenced the latest rankings. Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran jumped 12 spots to 20th among batsmen, while Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha moved up 18 spots to 59th. India’s Avishek Sharma remains the top T20I batsman, with New Zealand’s Jacko Duffy topping the bowlers’ list.
Pakistan’s left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqeem climbed 11 spots to 22nd in T20I bowling, while pace veteran Shaheen Shah Afridi advanced eight spots to 26th. Teammate Mohammad Nawaz rose 15 spots to 43rd. Afghanistan’s Nabi jumped 26 spots to 54th, and left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad improved 49 spots to 73rd.
In the T20I all-rounders ranking, India’s Hardik Pandya remains first, with Nabi moving up one spot to second.
