Sikandar Raza and Nicholas Pooran rise significantly in the men’s player rankings after strong performances in the ODI World Cup Qualifiers

All-rounder Sikandar Raza and West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran have risen significantly in the most recent men’s player rankings for the format as a result of their strong showings in the group stage of the Men’s ODI World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe.

After three strong innings in the home Qualifiers, Raza climbed seven spots to 27th in the batting rankings, which were announced on Wednesday. The 37-year-old started off the season with a scorching 102 not out against the Netherlands, and then added 68 against the West Indies and 48 against the USA.

With eight wickets in the Qualifier, Raza’s off-spin is also among the top six wicket-takers. Raza has moved up two positions to third in the ODI all-rounder rankings, behind only Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi in top and second place, respectively, due to his outstanding play with both the bat and the ball.

On the other side, Pooran, who scored two centuries for the West Indies in the Qualifier, has moved up 13 spots to be placed 19th in ODI batting.

The left-handed batsman finished the group stage with 296 runs, ranking second, including 115 against Nepal and 104 not out against the Netherlands before his efforts were in naught owing to the Super Over loss.

With 15 sixes in the group stage alone, Pooran now poses a significant threat to the West Indies’ chances of qualifying for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year.

Due to his three fifties in three innings, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards has moved up 24 ranks to the 40th slot in the ODI batting rankings, passing Zimbabwe veteran Sean Williams, who is now leading the competition with 43 runs.

Wanindu Hasaranga, a leg-spinner for Sri Lanka, has moved up two positions to number 24 in the ODI Bowling Rankings after taking 18 wickets in four games during the group round of the Qualifier.

With 10 kills, Zimbabwean pacer Richard Ngarava is tied for second in the competition in terms of wickets taken, and he has moved up 27 ranks to tie for 32nd in the ODI bowling rankings. The top two slots in the rankings for ODI batting and bowling remain held by Babar Azam of Pakistan and Josh Hazlewood of Australia, respectively.