Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir both moved up three spots in the ICC bowling rankings at the conclusion of the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.
South Africa bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir have advanced within the top 10 of the ICC ODI Player Rankings after their side’s 3-0 home series triumph over Zimbabwe.
Fast bowler Rabada, who is also ranked second in Test matches on the ICC’s rankings, has moved up three spots to take sixth position after grabbing five wickets in two matches, while formerly top-ranked leg-spinner Tahir’s Player of the Series effort of taking 10 wickets (including a hat-trick in the second ODI) has seen him progress three places up into seventh position.
South Africa fast bowlers Andile Phehlukwayo and Lungi Ngidi have also made significant gains in a series dominated by their team, who won the three matches by margins of by five wickets, 140 runs and four wickets.
Phehlukwayo has moved up nine slots to 35th position with five wickets in the series and Ngidi has gained 19 places to reach a career-high 6oth position, taking four wickets in two matches. Aiden Markram (up 14 places to a career-best 115th place) and Heinrich Klaasen (up 47 places to a career-high 118th) have also moved up in the list for batsmen.
For Zimbabwe, Hamilton Masakadza (up three places to 64th place) and Sean Williams (up eight places to 78th) are the main gainers among the batsmen, while Tendai Chetara (up six places to 45th spot) has progressed in the list for bowlers.
South Africa’s series win did not impact the ICC ODI Team Rankings, as both teams remained on their pre-series points tally – the home side in fourth position on 110 points and Zimbabwe in 11th position on 53 points.
Meanwhile, the top sides will continue to prepare for next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales with five sides to feature in 13 50-over matches this month. To add further context to these matches, the No 1 spot will potentially be up for the taking depending on how the Sri Lanka-England series pans out.
In the England vs Sri Lanka series, which starts in Dambulla on 10 October, England will have to win the series to retain their No 1 ranking. Their failure to win the series will give India a sniff at the top spot when they take on the West Indies in the five-match ODI series from 21 October.
However, if both England and India win all their matches in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies, then they will gain a point each to finish on 128 and 123 points respectively, thus retaining a difference of five points.
Bangladesh will also have an opportunity to add another point to their tally when they will feature in a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe from 20 October. The only way Bangladesh can drop behind Sri Lanka in eighth position is if Zimbabwe and England win 3-0 and 5-0, respectively.
The ODI team rankings, unlike the Test rankings, are updated after each match. The predictor function is available here.
MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings (as of 8 October, after the South Africa-Zimbabwe series):
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | England | 127 |
| 2 | India | 122 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 112 |
| 4 | South Africa | 110 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 101 |
| 6 | Australia | 100 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 92 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 77 |
| 9 | West Indies | 69 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 67 |
| 11 | Zimbabwe | 53 |
| 12 | Ireland | 39 |
| 13 | Scotland | 33 |
| 14 | UAE | 21 |
*Nepal will qualify for a full ranking after playing one more ODI, the Netherlands will qualify for a full ranking after playing two more matches. (Developed by David Kendix)
MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings (as of 8 October, after the South Africa-Zimbabwe series):
BATSMEN (top 20)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | Ind | 884 | 58.20 | 911 v Eng 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Rohit Sharma | Ind | 842 | 46.17 | 844 v Pak 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 818 | 51.61 | 819 v Aus 2018 |
| 4 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 803 | 43.43 | 880 v Pak 2017 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Shikhar Dhawan | Ind | 802 | 46.82 | 813 v Pak 2018 |
| 6 | ( – ) | Babar Azam | Pak | 798 | 51.92 | 846 v NZ 2018 |
| 7 | ( – ) | Ross Taylor | NZ | 785 | 46.28 | 789 v Eng 2018 |
| 8 | (+1) | Kane Williamson | NZ | 778 | 46.87 | 798 v SA 2015 |
| 9= | (-1) | Quinton de Kock | SA | 769 | 45.25 | 808 v Ban 2017 |
| (+1) | Jonny Bairstow | Eng | 769 | 50.30 | 777 v Aus 2018 | |
| 11 | ( – ) | Faf du Plessis | SA | 753 | 44.22 | 802 v Ind 2018 |
| 12 | ( – ) | Martin Guptill | NZ | 731 | 42.99 | 789 v SA 2017 |
| 13= | ( – ) | Hashim Amla | SA | 718 | 49.65 | 901 v Eng 2012 |
| (+1) | Tamim Iqbal | Ban | 718 | 36.24 | 737 v Win 2018 | |
| 15 | ( – ) | Aaron Finch | Aus | 706 | 38.19 | 744 v Eng 2015 |
| 16 | ( – ) | Mushfiqur Rahim | Ban | 702 | 33.97 | 712 v Pak 2018 |
| 17 | ( – ) | Jos Buttler | Eng | 701 | 40.35 | 723 v Ban 2016 |
| 18 | ( – ) | MS Dhoni | Ind | 695 | 50.61 | 836 v Aus 2009 |
| 19 | ( – ) | Fakhar Zaman | Pak | 689* | 59.00 | 715 v HK 2018 |
| 20 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 675 | 41.84 | 752 v Pak 2017 |
BOWLERS (top 20)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points | Avge | Eco. | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Jasprit Bumrah | Ind | 797 | 21.77 | 4.54 | 821 v Pak 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | Rashid Khan | Afg | 788 | 14.47 | 3.90 | 806 v Pak 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Kuldeep Yadav | Ind | 700*! | 20.10 | 4.65 | 700 v Ban 2018 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Trent Boult | NZ | 699 | 24.63 | 5.09 | 766 v Ind 2016 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Josh Hazlewood | Aus | 696 | 24.27 | 4.72 | 733 v Eng 2018 |
| 6 | (+3) | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 691 | 26.79 | 5.03 | 724 v Eng 2017 |
| 7 | (+3) | Imran Tahir | SA | 685 | 23.75 | 4.67 | 786 v SL 2017 |
| 8= | (-2) | Adil Rashid | Eng | 681! | 30.80 | 5.52 | 681 v Ind 2018 |
| (-2) | Hasan Ali | Pak | 681 | 22.39 | 5.23 | 766 v NZ 2018 | |
| 10 | (-2) | M. Ur Rahman | Afg | 679* | 19.06 | 3.84 | 691 v Ban 2018 |
| 11 | ( – ) | Y. Chahal | Ind | 661* | 24.92 | 4.68 | 668 v HK 2018 |
| 12 | ( – ) | M. Rahman | Ban | 651*! | 19.78 | 4.66 | 651 v Ind 2018 |
| 13 | ( – ) | Chris Woakes | Eng | 643 | 30.77 | 5.50 | 673 v NZ 2018 |
| 14 | ( – ) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 642 | 20.95 | 4.93 | 783 v NZ 2015 |
| 15 | ( – ) | Mohammad Nabi | Afg | 633 | 31.44 | 4.25 | 653 v Zim 2017 |
| 16 | ( – ) | Mitchell Santner | NZ | 632 | 33.91 | 4.90 | 663 v Eng 2018 |
| 17 | ( – ) | Moeen Ali | Eng | 621 | 45.08 | 5.09 | 629 v Aus 2018 |
| 18 | ( – ) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 607 | 28.45 | 5.38 | 626 v Eng 2018 |
| 19 | ( – ) | Matt Henry | NZ | 606 | 24.59 | 5.57 | 675 v Aus 2016 |
| 20 | ( – ) | Tim Murtagh | Ire | 602 | 29.74 | 4.48 | 613 v Zim 2018 |
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Rashid Khan | Afg | 353*/ | 359 v Pak 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | S. Al Hasan | Ban | 341 | 453 v Zim 2009 |
| 3 | ( – ) | M. Nabi | Afg | 337 | 349 v Ire 2017 |
| 4 | ( – ) | M. Santner | NZ | 317! | 317 v Eng 2018 |
| 5 | ( – ) | M. Hafeez | Pak | 306 | 438 v Ind 2013 |
