Keshav Maharaj topples Mohammed Siraj, becomes No. 1 ODI bowler in ICC Rankings

South Africa's premier spinner Keshav Maharaj has dethroned India's pacer, Mohammed Siraj to claim the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men's ODI Bowlers Rankings. There has been a lot of movement in the ICC Rankings lately and this is the third time there has been a change in as many weeks as Siraj now slips to the second spot.

The reason behind the latest change is Maharaj's exemplary performance. Since last Wednesday, the 33-year-old left-arm-orthodox bowler has claimed seven wickets in three games, including a match-winning four-for (4/46) against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, 1/30 against India and 2/25 in a winning cause against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad.

Notably, Maharaj has got only a three-point lead over Siraj as the emerging pace sensation has also been equally good. Maharaj has a total of 726 ratings whereas Siraj has aggregated 723 ratings in his



kitty.

Since India only played a solitary game in the last week, the right-arm pacer didn't have enough opportunity to add to his wickets column. He was fairly impressive in India's 160-run win over the Netherlands at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, November 12.

Meanwhile, India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav have also registered gains in the latest rankings. Bumrah is now occupying the fourth slot with 687 ratings and Kuldeep, fifth, is closing on him with 682 rating points.

On the other hand, not much has changed in the ODI batting rankings as Shubman Gill continues to remain at the top and Babar Azam is placed second. Virat Kohli (4) and India captain Rohit Sharma (5) are the other Indian players in the top ten. Virat has 772 ratings whereas Rohit has accumulated 760 points by virtue of an impressive World Cup campaign thus far.