Gill dethrones Babar Azam, becomes number 1 ranked ODI batsman, Kohli overtakes Rohit, enters top-4
Dubai, Nov 8: India opener Shubman Gill and pacer Mohammed Siraj on Wednesday grabbed the top positions in the batting and bowling charts respectively in the ICC ODI rankings.
While Gill replaced Pakistan skipper Babar Azam from the top of the batters' chart, Siraj displaced South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj in the bowlers' list.
Gill displaced Babar on the back of his solid start to India's campaign at the ongoing World Cup and in the process became just the fourth player from his country behind Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli to hold the No.1 ODI batter ranking.
The right-hander has contributed scores of 92 against Sri Lanka and 23 against South Africa over the last week, and amassed a total of 219 runs from six innings at the ongoing tournament.
Babar has totalled 282 runs from eight knocks at the World Cup and dropped six rating points below Gill into second place as his reign of more than two years as the No.1 ranked ODI batter in the world came to an end.
Among other Indian batters, Virat Kohli has risen to fourth place following his sensational run in the World Cup, while skipper Rohit Sharma is placed sixth.
Kohli is currently India's highest run-scorer, amassing 543 in eight innings at an average of 108.60, including two centuries and four fifties.
Kohli is one rating point behind third-placed Quinton de Kock of South Africa.
Middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer also rose 17 spots to be placed 18th in the rankings.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman (up three spots to 11th) and Afghanistan counterpart Ibrahim Zadran (up six spots to 12th) also made good ground.
Meanwhile among bowlers, Siraj rose to the top spot with his impressive effort so far in the tournament.
Siraj has grabbed 10 wickets so far in eighth matches at an economy rate of 5.23 to displace Maharaj from the top.
Among other Indian bowlers, fellow Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah has risen three spots to eighth, while Mohammed Shami jumped seven spots to be placed 10th on the chart.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also climbed three places to be placed fourth, while fellow tweaker Ravindra Jadeja has moved up eight rungs to the 19th spot.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan is leading the all-rounders' chart, while Jadeja is the highest-ranked Indian at the 10th spot.
Jadeja is India's third-highest wicket-taker in the competition so far, scalping 14 wickets from eight matches at a good economy rate of 3.76, including a five-for. With the bat, he has piled up 111 runs in four innings at an average of 55.50.
Hardik Pandya, who will miss the remainder of the tournament after suffering an ankle injury in India's fourth match against Bangladesh, is down to 13th position.
Shubman Gill 🤝 Mohammed Siraj
— ICC (@ICC) November 8, 2023
India players claim the 🔝 positions in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's ODI Player Rankings 🤩#CWC23 | Details 👇https://t.co/nRyTqAP48u pic.twitter.com/B3DuA4sfYx
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NGT halts Karnataka govt plan to divert ₹400 crore from KSPCB
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government’s move to divert over ₹400 crore from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for non-environmental works has hit a legal hurdle, after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took suo motu cognisance of the issue.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald, the state government had sought ₹100 crore as a grant, a ₹126 crore interest-free loan, and an additional ₹200 crore loan at an interest rate of 7.5% from the KSPCB. The funds were proposed to be used for projects related to preventing man-animal conflict and for coastal resilience works.
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The principal bench of the NGT, while issuing notices to Karnataka and other states, observed that pollution control boards are already facing severe staff shortages and increasing responsibilities. It noted that while boards are not allowed to fill vacancies to carry out their statutory duties, their funds are being sought for activities not covered under the Air Act or Water Act, which govern their functioning.
Of the total ₹426 crore sought by the state, ₹300 crore was proposed for constructing railway barricades to prevent man-elephant conflict, while ₹126 crore was earmarked for coastal protection works under a climate change mitigation programme.
The report also pointed out that diverting KSPCB funds lacks legal backing under the Water and Air Acts. It referred to a 2023 NGT order that questioned a similar attempt by the Punjab government to divert ₹250 crore, following which Punjab withdrew its proposal.
Officials within the KSPCB have raised concerns over the move, stating that the board requires greater autonomy and urgent reforms. They also flagged acute staff shortages, which have affected the board’s ability to effectively carry out environmental monitoring and regulatory functions.
