ICC Player ranking is important in every year as it recognizes the hard work of cricketers. The system ranks the performance of international cricketers using a Points base system.
The players are rated on the Scale of 0 to 1000 points. If a cricketer's performance is better than the previous year, his points are increased but if the performance is poor, their points decrease. It's a dream for all the batters and bowlers to make it to the top of the ICC ranking table but only a few can make it happen.
In this article let's have a look at the No.1 ODI batter and No.1 test bowler over the years:
No.1 ODI batter at the end of each calendar year
AB de Villiers (2013, 2014,2015 and 2016)
credits- ICC Cricket
The South African batter gained the ICC player Player Rankings for the ODI batter for four years in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. AB de Villiers broke the world record of the fastest ODI hundred in 2015 in just 31 balls. It also included the fastest ODI fifty as well as 16 sixes in the world at the time. He was also the highest scorer in the ODI World Cup. He has been one of the best batters that South Africa has gifted to the world.
Virat Kohli (2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020)
Credits- Deccan Chronicle
Indian batter Virat has been in the No.1 position in ODI for a total of 1258 days. The former Indian captain has been spectacular n the ODI series against New Zealand 2017 where he mustered two hundred in three matches that helped in gaining 889 rating points. With this rating point, Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's rating of 887 which he achieved in 1998. He also dethroned Ad de Villiers from the No.1 position.
Babar Azam (2021 and 2022)
Credits- ESPNcricinfo
Pakistani skipper Babar Azam surpassed Virat Kohli to become the best batter in the ODI Player rankings and became the fourth batter in Pakistan to get the No.1 position. He smashed 94 runs in 82 balls in ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League series against South Africa in Centurion in 2021. He gained 13 rating points to reach 865 points. It will be interesting to see how long he will be able to hold this position. In 2022, he played eight ODI games and scored 574 runs.
No.1 Test bowler at the end of each calendar year
Dale Steyn (2010, 2011 2012 and 2014)
Credits- ICC Cricket
Dale Steyn dominated Test cricket for a lot of years. He was ranked No.1 in the ICC Test bowling in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Steyn was in this spot for a total of 2343 days. He's the best fast South bowler from South Africa being instrumental in the team's success. His best ICC rating was 909, scalping a total wicket of 439 with an average of 22.95.
Vernon Philander (2013)
Credits- Cricbuzz
Vernon Philander achieved the number-one ranking in the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowling after their spectacular performance against India in the Johannesburg test that ended in a draw on Sunday. He has become the third South African player after Pollock and Steyn to get 900 ratings. Along with West Indies paceman Curtly Ambrose and England's Tony Lock, Philander's total of 912 rating points ranks as the best-ever by a South African bowler and is tied for sixth overall.
Ravichandran Ashwin (2015 and 2016)
Credits- Deccan Chronicle
Ravichandran Ashwin was the ICC No.1 Test bowler in 2015 and 2016. He got to the No.1 position after defeating South Africa in the home series against South Africa in 2015. He got to this position after scalping 62 wickets in nine Tests in the same year that included 31 scalps in four games against SA. After Bishen Bedi, he's the first bowler to achieve this feat.
James Anderson (2017)
Credits- News18
Anderson left his teammate Stuart Broad behind to become the No.1 test bowler in the ICC Test rankings. He scalped 18 wickets in the first two Tests in the home series against Sri Lanka collecting 79 points in that year and jumping four spots in the rankings. His figures of 3 for 36 and 5 for 58 in the second test gave him 30 points. With these points, he left Broad and Ashwin behind.
Kagiso Rabada (2018)
Credits- NDRV Sports
Kagiso Rabada became the number-one-ranked test bowler in ICC 2018 after leading South Africa to a sensational win over India in the first test at Newlands in the same year. Earlier, he has been one of the star players in their U19 team in 2014 and had a figure of 3/34 and 2/41 against the star batters of India. In that year, he took 23 wickets in 14 ODI innings.
Pat Cummins (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022)
Credits- ESPNcricinfo
In February 2019, Cummins became the no.1 Test bowler as per the ICC rankings. He has given extraordinary services to his team in Australia. His skill of bowling lengthy bowls and scalping wickets sets him apart from his contemporaries. The right-arm speedster who is now ranked No. 1 in the world in tests, has held that position for a very long period. It has been about 1826 days since he first rose to the No.1 position.
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