Shubhman Gill can dethrone Babar Azam at the top of the ICC ODI Batting Rankings with a good performance in the Champions Trophy
Good news awaits the Prince of Indian Cricket Shubhman Gill ahead of the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025. If he performs well in the upcoming ICC tournament, then he will dethrone Pakistan's Babar Azam at the top of the ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings. He will move to the number one spot, overtaking the former Pakistani skipper, who is currently sitting at the top of the rankings.
As the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy commences, Babar is currently sitting at the top of the ODI Batting Rankings with 786 rating points to his name. Gill is at the 2nd spot with 781 rating points. However, after the 30-year-old failed to shine in the Triangular series versus New Zealand & South Africa, Gill now has the chance to snatch the first position from the Pakistani batter.
The former Pakistani skipper, who opened the innings for the Shaheens in all three encounters of the Triangular series, could only manage to score 62 runs with the bat at a disappointing average of 20.67. The Prince of Indian Cricket, on the other hand, scored 259 runs at an average of 86.33 in the three-match ODI series against England, including two half-centuries and a century.
The Pakistani batter had first reached the top spot in the Batting Rankings four years ago in 2021. He had overtaken India's Virat Kohli, who had occupied the top spot for a long duration of 1,258 days but his reign came to an end as Babar overtook him.
Eventually, the 30-year-old lost the top spot later but he regained it in December after the conclusion of the 2023 ODI World Cup, overtaking Shubman Gill of Team India. 2024 was the year of the T20 World Cup so majority of the teams were focused on the shortest format of the game, so Azam retained his top spot in the ODI Batting Rankings.
With the Prince of Indian Cricket looking in red hot form with the bat ahead of the Champions Trophy, his chances of securing the top spot are very high. But, Babar cannot be underestimated too as he's a world class player and he needs just one solid inning to get back in his best form.
