Ireland's Harry Tector leapfrogs Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma to attain number seven spot in latest ODI rankings
Harry Tector leapfrogs Kohli, Rohit to attain number 7 spot in ODI rankings
Ireland batter Harry Tector gained 72 rating points to sit in the seventh spot in the latest ICC ODI Rankings for batters - the best-ever for an Irish cricketer. In the process, Tector also leapfrogged Indian legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are eighth and tenth, respectively.
Following a stunning home series against Bangladesh, where in three matches the young right-hander finished with 206 runs, scoring 21*, 140 and 45, Tector took his rating points to 722 - bettering Paul Stirling's tally of 697 rating points, which he attained in June 2021. Although his numbers couldn't help Ireland claim a series win as Bangladesh beat them 2-0, with the first game getting washed out.
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Tector, who left an impression with his superb stroke play during the home T20I series against India last year, has scored 769 runs in 13 outings since 2022. The tall batter scored four centuries (including two against New Zealand last year, one each against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in 2023) and as many fifties - at an impressive average of 76.90 and a strike rate of 90.89.
Next in the line is veteran batter Stirling who has 352 runs from 12 ODIs.
Tector will get a chance to improve his numbers during the upcoming 2023 World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, beginning June 18th. Ireland are placed in Group B alongside West Indies, Nepal, Scotland and the USA. For the Irish team to make the cut for the 2023 World Cup, they need to stay on the top of the group to qualify as one of the two teams to go through.
Meanwhile, Harry Tector was tipped to go for huge numbers in the IPL 2023, but didn't get any buyers at last year's auction. However, with the action-packed Qualifiers coming up and India also slated to travel to Ireland for a short white-ball series in around August time, Tector, if he remains fit, will have a chance to up his game and climb the ranking ladder.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam is the rank number one batter in ODIs with 886 rating points, with South Africa's Rassie van der Dussen second on the list with 777 points. The third and fourth spot is occupied by the Pakistan opening pair of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq, whereas, India's young gun Shubman Gill is fifth with 738 points.
Virat, with 719 points, and captain Rohit with 707 points, are also in the top ten.
