(Image source from: icc-cricket.com)

Former Indian team leader Rohit Sharma made history on Wednesday, October 29, by becoming the oldest Indian player to achieve the No. 1 spot in ODI batting worldwide. The cricketer from Mumbai, aged 38 years and 182 days, moved up two spots on that day to secure the top rank in the ICC ODI batter standings for the very first time in his career. Rohit took the lead from his teammate, Shuman Gill, who was previously the captain. Last week, Rohit had 745 rating points, and he made 73 runs off 97 balls in the second ODI against Australia held at Adelaide Oval on October 23. He also scored an impressive 121 runs not out off 125 balls in the third match at Sydney Cricket Ground on October 25. These strong performances helped him gain essential rating points, bringing his total to 781. Rohit, who guided India to the 2023 ODI World Cup final, is the fifth Indian player to reach the No. 1 ODI batting rank, following legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Gill.

Gill has fallen from first to third place now. In the three ODIs against Australia, he managed scores of only 10, 9, and 24. Star batsman Virat Kohli made 74 runs in the third ODI, but he still dropped down one spot and is now ranked sixth with 725 rating points. Shreyas Iyer contributed a half-century for India in the second ODI at Adelaide Oval, rising one position to 9th from 10th. In the ICC ODI bowler rankings, Josh Hazlewood moved up two spots to become the 8th ranked bowler, while Kuldeep Yadav from India fell from 6th to 7th. Spinner Adam Zampa took four wickets in the second ODI against Australia, moving up two ranks to now hold the 12th position, while New Zealand's white-ball captain, Mitchell Santner, climbed three spots to secure fourth place in the ICC ODI bowler rankings.