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Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana Breaks Into Top 3 ODI Bowlers
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Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana has risen significantly in the ICC ODI bowler rankings after his excellent bowling in the series against New Zealand.
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Maheesh Theekshana’s Rise in ICC ODI Bowler Rankings
It has to be noted that this is for the first time, Maheesh Theekshana has reached the top three in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings. The spinner gave a stunning performance against New Zealand, taking 7 wickets in two matches and helping his team dominate the game.
Top Performance Against New Zealand
In the first ODI, Maheesh Theekshana took four wickets, including a hat-trick, finishing with impressive figures of 4/44. In the second match, he claimed three wickets, but Sri Lanka couldn’t secure a win and lost the series 2-1.
Theekshana now has a career-high 663 rating points in the ICC rankings. He is just six points behind Rashid Khan (669) and two behind India’s Kuldeep Yadav (665), the current top two bowlers in the world.
Maheesh Theekshana also jumped up four spots in the ICC All-Rounder Rankings, thanks to his contributions with the bat. He is now ranked 26th. Mohammad Nabi (300 points) remains the top all-rounder, followed by Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza (290).
Meanwhile, New Zealand pacer Matt Henry also progressed in the ICC ODI Bowler Rankings. He picked nine wickets at an impressive average of 10.33 during the
ODI series, climbing three spots to join ninth place with 635 rating points.
The captain of New Zealand cricket team, Mitchell Santner has also seen improvement in his ICC ODI Bowler rankings, moving up two spots to 15th after some solid performances.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan cricketer Asitha Fernando made a significant jump, climbing 34 places to reach the 97th spot after an impressive spell of 3/26 in seven overs. There were no major changes in the ICC ODI Batting Rankings.
No Major Changes in ICC ODI Batting Rankings
Pakistan’s Babar Azam remains at the top with 795 rating points, followed by India’s Rohit Sharma in second place with 765 points.
Shubman Gill (763) and Virat Kohli (746) are currently ranked third and fourth, respectively. With upcoming ODI series between Pakistan and India, as well as the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, both players have a chance to improve their rankings.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka (622) had a challenging series in New Zealand, scoring just four runs, including two ducks. This caused him to drop five spots to 18th in the rankings. Other than this, there were no major changes in the ICC ODI Rankings.
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