ICC ODI Rankings: Babar Azam just ahead of Shubman Gill despite poor start to 2023 World Cup

The gap between Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and India's star opener Shubman Gill has reduced to just five points at the top of the ICC ODI Rankings among batters. Babar hasn't had the greatest of starts to the 2023 World Cup, with scores of five and 10 in the first two games.

However, the No. 1 ranked ODI batter has just about held onto his place at the top with 835 rating points as Shubman Gill is yet to feature in the tournament. The youngster is in the second position with 830 rating points as he continues to recover from dengue. He is also reportedly unlikely to be fit in time for the clash between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday (October 14).

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Virat Kohli & KL Rahul rise in ICC ODI Rankings after Chennai heroics

Star Indian batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul also made progress in the ICC ODI Rankings after their stunning partnership of 165 against Australia helped rescue the Men in Blue from a tricky situation to get to a comfortable six-wicket win.

Kohli has risen to seventh position among batters with 715 rating points to his name, while Rahul has broken into the top 20, at 19th with 633 rating points. The 2023 World Cup has seen 10 hundreds already and that has reflected in the rankings as well.

South African opener Quinton de Kock started his final ODI assignment with a hundred against Sri Lanka and is just ahead of Kohli in the sixth position in the ICC ODI rankings among batters with 724 rating points.

Dawid Malan's red-hot form saw him inch ahead of Jason Roy in England's 2023 World Cup squad and the southpaw seems to have justified his selection once again. His stunning century against Bangladesh has taken him to eighth position in the rankings and a career-best 711 rating points.