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Nasser Hussain and Dinesh Karthik were surprised Rohit Sharma topped ICC ODI rankings for the first time after his century vs Australia, despite his stellar record.
Rohit Sharma becomes new world No. 1 ODI batter. (Picture Credit: X/@BCCI)
Former England captain Nasser Hussain was stunned to know that Rohit Sharma had topped the ICC men’s ODI rankings for the first time after his match-winning century against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday (October 25). Hussain was confused about how someone with Rohit’s longevity and record, including three double centuries, never allowed him to be number one in his prime.
Rohit has been the fourth-highest run-scorer in ODIs since the start of 2023, with 1916 runs in 41 matches at an average of 51.78 and a staggering strike rate of 112.83. He has hit 13 fifties and four centuries in this time.
“I can’t believe it, to be honest,” Hussain told ICC. “I heard he [Rohit Sharma] went to number one, and my first question was-when has he been at number one before? And someone said it’s the first time. I mean, he’s been around forever; he’s got three double hundreds in ODI cricket. There must have been some good white-ball players, one-day players in the last 15 years. Fabulous white-ball cricketer, fabulous player, and well done to him. He deserves to be number one in the world,” he added.
Former India wicketkeeper and Rohit’s friend Dinesh Karthik was also surprised that the former India captain didn’t go to the top of the rankings during the 2019 World Cup. He was the top run-scorer in the tournament with 648 runs in nine innings at an average of 81.
“I am surprised that in the 2019 World Cup he wasn’t No. 1 somewhere during the tournament. Just the way he batted-it was poetry in motion. It was fascinating to watch how much effort he put in during the lead-up to the series. Prior to this series, over the last three to four years, when the ball was seaming, his only modus operandi was hit out or get out. Here, he actually went back to being a good old-fashioned opener, where he left the ball and played defensively. He almost showed what it takes to do well in such tough conditions as an opener,” Karthik said.
Karthik isn’t wrong. Rohit had his career-best rating of 882 against Sri Lanka on July 6, 2025.
However, at that time, Virat Kohli was at the top of the rankings with 889 points and remained at that spot throughout the tournament.
October 31, 2025, 08:53 IST
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