Rohit Sharma Becomes World No. 1 ODI Batter for the First Time

India captain Rohit Sharma has climbed to the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings for the first time in his career, following his stellar performances in the recently concluded ODI series against Australia.

Rohit, who scored 73 and an unbeaten 121 off 105 balls in the second and third ODIs respectively, jumped from third to first place in the latest update released on Wednesday. Despite India losing the three-match series 2-1, Rohit’s consistency and match-defining knocks were enough to push him past Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran and India’s Shubman Gill, who previously occupied the top two spots.

The achievement marks a new milestone for the 38-year-old opener, who has been a regular fixture in the top ten of the ICC ODI batting rankings for nearly a decade but had never held the No. 1 position until now.

Rohit’s latest century — his 33rd in ODIs — came in Sydney on October 25, where he anchored India’s chase with a fluent innings that underlined his enduring class and form ahead of a packed international schedule.

India’s Axar Patel also made notable gains after an impressive all-round display in the same series. Axar picked up a wicket in each ODI while contributing valuable runs with the bat — scoring 31 and 44 in the first two games. His efforts saw him rise six places to 31st among bowlers and four places to 8th among allrounders in the ODI rankings.

In the global rankings movement, Mitchell Santner climbed three spots to No. 4 among ODI bowlers following his performances against England, while Josh Hazlewood moved up two places to No. 8.

Meanwhile, in the Test rankings, South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj jumped nine places to a career-best 13th after claiming nine wickets in the drawn two-Test series against Pakistan. His teammate Simon Harmer also rose 26 spots to No. 45, thanks to his 13 wickets across the two matches. Among batters, Aiden Markram (up to 15th) and Tony de Zorzi (up to joint 47th) also made progress.

Rohit’s rise to the top underscores his longevity and dominance in the 50-over format, where he continues to be one of India’s most reliable and prolific performers.