Islamabad: The Pakistani skipper has been on top since April 2021 Pakistan’s cricket team captain Babar Azam will begin his ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign as the number one One Day International (ODI) batter in the world, which was confirmed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday. With 857 rating points, Azam is ranked number one ODI batter, he is closely followed by India’s rising star Shubman Gill, who is ranked number two with 847. Azam’s place on top was confirmed after the Indian cricket team decided to rest Gill for the third ODI against Australia on Wednesday. Gill scored 74 and 104 runs in the first two ODIs respectively and was just 22 runs away from becoming the number one batter as he needed 200 runs in three ODIs to begin his World Cup campaign as the number one batter. Apart from Azam, Pakistan’s opening duo of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq are also in the top 10 batters. Imam is ranked fifth with a 728 rating while Zaman is at 10th place with a 692 rating. Meanwhile, in the top 10 ODI bowling rankings, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only one representing the Green Shirts as he is ranked eighth with 632 ratings.