By Manoj 
Joe Root, England’s leading batsman, has returned to the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Top 10 Rankings following an outstanding performance in the three ODIs played against India recently. Root has moved up by four spots to reach the eighth spot after performing consistently in the series where he scored 76, 99, and 74 not out. His amazing consistency allowed him to score 249 runs in the series with a strike rate of 96.88 and made him earn the Player of the Series award.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma maintained his No. 4 position in the latest rankings after putting up a stellar show with the bat, hitting a hundred in the third one-day international (ODI) match held at Lords. The outstanding 138 from Rohit not only helped India in ending the series on a high note but also reduced the rating points difference between him and the top three batsmen. Meanwhile, English opening batter Ben Duckett made a tremendous improvement of 11 positions to be placed in joint 19th place after hitting a 141 at Lords.
The top ranking is still held by New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell in ICC’s ODI batting rankings. The second place is still occupied by India’s Shubman Gill who currently trails Daryl Mitchell by one rating point only after making 188 runs in the series against England. Virat Kohli holds the third position after a decent show where he made 144 runs with two half centuries.
Changes in the bowling ranks were also witnessed following the 3-2 series win recorded by the New Zealand Black Caps over their opponents, the West Indies in the five-match ODI series. The captain of the New Zealand Black Caps, Mitchell Santner, has moved up three ranks to be joint-fourth on account of his important two wickets taken in both third and fourth ODIs. Gudakesh Motie, the left-arm bowler from the West Indies, has moved up seven ranks to joint-ninth rank.
The Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan still holds the top spot as the No. 1 ranked ODI bowler, with the spin-bowler from Pakistan, Abrar Ahmed, coming in at the second spot. Jofra Archer of England is the third-ranked ODI bowler, with Santner being fourth along with the South African player Keshav Maharaj.
On the other hand, the New Zealander all-rounder Michael Bracewell has made impressive improvements in the ODI all-rounder ranking table of the International Cricket Council (ICC). After scoring 86 runs and taking eight wickets in his side’s series against West Indies, Bracewell managed to reach the third spot. The Afghan cricketer Azmatullah Omarzai leads the list of all-rounders, followed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh.