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Rohit Sharma returns to top spot in ICC ODI Batting ranking, regains ratings lead before crucial South Africa series
After Daryl Mitchell missed the last two ODIs vs West Indies and dropped some rating points as a result, Rohit Sharma bounces right back to the top spot.
Along expected lines, Indian ODI opener Rohit Sharma has returned to the top of the ICC rankings for batters in the format. Rohit had briefly dropped down from the number 1 position, losing his spot to New Zealand's Daryl Mitchell after the Kiwi had struck a match-winning century against West Indies in the first ODI of that series.
However, with Mitchell missing second and third matches vs WI, he has lost the points that would have kept him at the top of that rankings table, allowing Rohit to enter the picture once again. This takes place just days before India are scheduled to begin their series against South Africa, a 3-match contest that will go a long way towards preparing against the team that will host the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Rohit enters off a vein of good form, looking like he was improving during the series played in Australia in October. This included a century in the 3rd and final ODI played in Sydney, where he and Virat Kohli stitched together a famous partnership to take India to a consolation win in that game.
Rohit is one of the three Indian batters in the top 5 of the ODI ranking table. With 781 rating points, he is ahead of Mitchell on 766. Shubman Gill at number 4 and Virat Kohli at number 5, along with Afghanistan's Ibrahim Zadran at number 3, round out the top of this list.
Brief change of opening partner for Rohit vs SA
Lower down, Shreyas Iyer dropped one spot into 9th. India will be without Gill and Iyer as they play the three-match series against South Africa, starting in a couple of days’ time in Ranchi.. Gill suffered from a neck spasm which forced him to miss much of the test series against the Proteas, and will not be available for this series either. Meanwhile, Iyer is out for the long term following a dangerous-looking spleen laceration injury suffered in Australia, and is expected to be out of action from all cricket until up to the 2026 IPL season.
In their stead, with both captain and vice-captain missing, the experienced head of KL Rahul has been named as the player who will take over the skipper's duties for the 50-over matches against South Africa. However, Gill is expected to return in time for the subsequent series against New Zealand beginning in January.
