England pip India to become top ODI side
Dubai,May 2: England leapfrogged India to gain the No.1 spot in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) One-Day International (ODI) rankings after the annual update which saw the men-in-blue losing a point to be positioned at second in the latest rankings released here on Wednesday.
England, who last topped the ODI rankings in January 2013 have gained eight points and moved to 125 points after the performances in the 2014-15 season has been dropped from the latest calculations while those from the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons were weighted at 50 percent.
India, who were at the top before the update, have lost a solitary point to slip to No.2 with a total of 122 points.
South Africa, who were second, have dropped down to third place after losing four points, from 117 to 113, leaving them nine points adrift of India and only one point ahead of fourth-placed New Zealand.
The remaining places remain unchanged, meaning that the current top 10 ranked sides are the ones who will be playing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
However, there have been some significant changes in points.
World champions Australia have lost eight points to go down to 104 in fifth position and are only two points ahead of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 winners Pakistan, who have gained six points.
In other changes, Bangladesh (93 points) have gained three points, Sri Lanka (77) have lost seven points, the West Indies (69) have lost five points, Afghanistan (63) have gained five points, Zimbabwe (55) have gained four points and 12th-placed Ireland (38) have lost three points.
Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I rankings led by Pakistan, there is no change in the top seven places but Afghanistan are now ahead of Sri Lanka in the eighth slot.
Pakistan (130) and Australia (126) remain in the top two positions without a change in their points total while India have gained two points to reach 123.
New Zealand (116) are unchanged on points while England (115) have gained a solitary point.
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Mayawati criticises 'hasty' passage of Waqf Bill, says BSP does not support it
Lucknow (PTI): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Friday criticised the central government for "rushing" the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, saying that the legislation should have been introduced only after addressing people's concerns and clarifying doubts.
Her remarks came after the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill late Thursday night, a day after its approval in the Lok Sabha, where the opposition strongly opposed it.
"After listening to both the ruling party and the opposition in Parliament on the Waqf Amendment Bill, the conclusion is that if the central government had given the public more time to understand the Bill and addressed all their concerns before bringing it forward, it would have been better," Mayawati posted on X in Hindi.
The BSP leader further expressed disappointment over what she termed as the government's "haste" in passing the Bill.
"It is unfortunate that the government hurriedly introduced and passed this Bill, which is not appropriate. Now that it has been passed, if governments misuse it, then the BSP will stand firmly with the Muslim community. In other words, the party does not support this Bill," she added.
