Zimbabwe cricket star becomes World No. 1 ODI all-rounder

Zimbabwe cricket star Sikandar Raza has climbed to the top of the ICC Men's ODI all-rounder rankings for the first time in his career, following a stellar performance in the two-match series against Sri Lanka in Harare.

The 39-year-old veteran scored 92 in the first ODI and an unbeaten 59 in the second, while also taking a wicket in the series. His contributions were enough to push him past Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi, who now occupy second and third place, respectively. Raza's previous career-best was second position, achieved in December 2023.

Raza's 151-run haul also propelled him nine spots up the batting rankings to 22nd, just shy of his career-best 24th, reached in June last year. He has also edged up one position to 38th in the bowling charts.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka, who finished the series with 198 runs and the Player of the Series accolade, surged seven places to 13th in the batting rankings. His teammate Janith Liyanage rose 13 places to 29th, while Zimbabwe's Sean Williams climbed three spots to 47th. Elsewhere, Scotland's George Munsey moved to 34th after his unbeaten 84 against Canada in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2, while South Africa's Tony de Zorzi advanced to 64th.

In the bowling rankings, South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj displaced Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana to become the world's No. 1 ODI bowler. Maharaj's four for 22 in the first ODI against England in Leeds was pivotal to the shift. England's Jofra Archer jumped six places to 19th, South Africa's Lungi Ngidi rose five to joint-23rd, while Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka also gained ground. Madushanka's hat-trick in Harare lifted him from 60th to 52nd.

On the T20I front, Afghanistan batters Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal made significant gains after starring in a tri-series clash against Pakistan in Sharjah, with scores of 65 and 64, respectively. Zadran leapt 12 places to 20th, while Atal surged 346 places to 127th.

Pakistan's Hasan Nawaz climbed to joint-31st in the batting rankings, while in the bowling charts Sufiyan Muqeem (22nd), Shaheen Afridi (26th) and Mohammad Nawaz (43rd) all made progress.

Although Nabi slipped to third in the ODI all-rounders' list due to Raza's rise, he moved up to second in the T20I all-rounder rankings, underlining his continued influence in the shortest format.