Shubman Gill takes No. 2 spot in ICC rankings for batters

Having slammed two fifties in four innings in the ongoing Asia Cup, Shubman Gill has moved up to a career-best No. 2 in the ICC ODI rankings for men's batters, only behind Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. Gill (759 points) is now only 103 points behind Babar (863).

The young Indian opener only managed 19 runs against Sri Lanka but got 58 against Pakistan and 67* against Nepal. He isn't the only India batter on the move, with Virat Kohli rising two places to eighth and Rohit Sharma jumping two spots to ninth, which means India have three players inside the top 10 for the first time in more than four and a half years.

The Men in Green also have three players in the top 10, but Imam-ul-Haq dropped one place to fifth and Fakhar Zaman lost three spots and is now 10th. 

In the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav has been in impressive form of late, having claimed nine wickets in the last two games. The left-arm wristspinner has jumped five places to seventh in the bowling rankings. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has gone up four places to sixth on the ODI all-rounder rankings.

Haris Rauf (up eight places to 21st) and Naseem Shah (up 11 spots to equal 51st) also made improvements but are set to miss the Asia Cup due to respective niggles. 

Elsewhere, Josh Hazlewood increased his lead at the top of the ODI bowler rankings following a three-wicket haul in the first match against South Africa. David Warner also jumped one place to fourth and Travis Head moved up six spots to 20th in the rankings for batters.

Keshav Maharaj (up 10 places to 25th) and Tabraiz Shamsi (up 15 spots to equal 29th) improved on the list for ODI bowlers, while South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma jumped a whopping 21 places to 11th and a new career-high rating on the rankings for ODI batters following his impressive century in the series opener.

(With inputs from ICC media release)