Shaheen Shah Afridi ranked No. 1 ODI bowler for the first time

Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Pakistan fast bowler, has soared seven spots to become the No. 1 ranked ODI bowler in the format, according to the latest ICC rankings.

The 23-year-old speedster has had an impressive start to his ODI World Cup where he is currently the joint-leading wicket-taker alongside Adam Zampa, with 16 wickets in seven innings at 19.93.

Afridi displaced Australia quick Josh Hazlewood, who now moves to second, from the top spot. Mohammed Siraj and Keshav Maharaj have also lost one place moving to third and fourth position on the table respectively. This is the first time that Afridi has held the No. 1 ranking in any format.

Afridi's move to the top comes on the back of a three-wicket haul against Bangladesh, where he finished with 3 for 21 in nine overs. During the course of the game, he also reached 100 wickets in ODIs in just his 51st innings, making him the third-quickest to the landmark and the quickest fast bowler just ahead of Mitchell Starc.

With Babar Azam holding on to the top spot on the batting front, Pakistan now have two players occupying the No. 1 position in the batting and bowling format.

Babar's lead is only a slender one - by two rating points - with Shubman Gill close on his heels. Babar has only managed 216 runs in seven innings, averaging 30.85 with three half-centuries. Gill also hasn't set the tournament alight, managing 104 runs in four innings at 26.00 with a solitary half-century.

Rohit Sharma, meanwhile rose three spots to enter the top five of the rankings following a stellar start to his ODI World Cup, while David Warner, who is currently second on the run-getters list with 413 in six innings at 68.83 rose one position to fourth.

On the bowling front, there were gains for Kuldeep Yadav and Mujeeb Ur Rahman as they slotted into the seventh and eighth positions in the rankings chart. Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan continues to lead the allrounders list.