Dubai: Amid speculation over his international future, India’s white-ball veteran Rohit Sharma has surged to the No. 2 spot in the latest ICC ODI batting rankings, released on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old, who last played competitive cricket during the 2025 IPL, leapfrogged Pakistan’s Babar Azam after the latter endured a lean patch in the recent ODI series against West Indies in the Caribbean.
Rohit now sits on 756 rating points, trailing only India’s Test skipper Shubman Gill (784), who continues to hold the top position. Former captain Virat Kohli remains at No. 4 with 736 points.
Both Rohit and Kohli retired from Test cricket ahead of India’s England tour but have confirmed their commitment to the 50-over format.
The duo is likely to feature in the three-match ODI series against Australia in October and has already begun training.
Rohit, considered among the greatest ODI batters alongside Kohli, achieved his career-best ranking during the 2019 World Cup with 882 points after scoring a record five centuries in the tournament.
The two last appeared in ODIs during India’s victorious Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE earlier this year.
India now boasts five players in the top 15 of the ODI batting charts, with Shreyas Iyer at No. 8 and KL Rahul at No. 15.
Australia, South Africa stars make big gains in T20I rankings
Australia’s Tim David, the leading run-scorer in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa, climbed six places to 10th overall, while teammate Cameron Green rose to 17th.
For South Africa, youngster Dewald Brevis made a stunning jump from outside the top 100 to 21st, courtesy of his record-breaking 125 in Darwin that helped level the series 1-1. Tristan Stubbs also gained 12 spots, moving to 27th.
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Among bowlers, Josh Hazlewood advanced to 20th, while South African pacers Kagiso Rabada (up 15 places to 44th) and Lungi Ngidi (up 14 to 50th) were notable movers.
New Zealanders shine in Test rankings after Zimbabwe sweep
Following New Zealand’s 2-0 Test series win over Zimbabwe, pacer Matt Henry claimed a career-high rating, climbing to third in the ICC Test bowling rankings after bagging 16 wickets at an average of 9.12.
He now sits behind only Jasprit Bumrah and Rabada, displacing Australian captain Pat Cummins.
Among batters, Rachin Ravindra surged 15 spots to 23rd, Devon Conway moved to 37th, and Henry Nicholls advanced to 47th after solid contributions with the bat.
