Kagiso Rabada reveals that he did not expect to jump up to No 1 on the ODI bowler rankings. 

The 21-year-old speedster sprung to the summit of the ODI bowler rankings after his performance at Lord’s in the thrid ODI, where he picked up 4-39 to help skittle England for 153.

His four-for saw him overtake Proteas leg-spinner Imran Tahir, and Rabada expressed his feelings about becoming the world’s best 50-over bowler.

‘I’m surprised. I didn’t expect that at all. But nothing changes; you have to get into each game looking to do your best,’ Rabada told the ICC’s official website.

He followed up by ruling out any animosity between himself and Tahir.

‘I didn’t even know about it. I don’t think he did either. Even if he does, nothing will change. Immy’s a good guy, we get along with each other in the team, so there wouldn’t be any issue – maybe a bit of banter.’

He continued by commenting on South Africa’s current form.

‘I think we’ve been playing really good cricket, even though we haven’t been winning. We won our last one, which will give us some confidence.’

Rabada will now turn his attention to the Champions Trophy, where topping the bowling charts would be vital to the Proteas’ chances, but to the speedster, the main focus would be to lift the trophy.

‘It will be a nice achievement, but I’m concentrating on the team and what I have to do. If I don’t win it and we win the Champions Trophy, I don’t really care about it.’

Reaching speeds of up to 145km/h, Rabada aims to increase his speed as he continues to develop as a fast bowler.

‘We’ll see. With the necessary training… with the fitness trainer, we’ll see if we can add some scientific biomechanics where I can pick up some speed.’

The Proteas will play Sri Lanka on Saturday in their opening Group B match, a side they whitewashed in January-February 2017.