Virat Kohli Regains Top Spot in Test Rankings, Mohammed Shami Breaks into Top 10
Along with Kohli, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are also part of the top ten amongst batsmen in Test cricket and stand at fourth and sixth respectively.
India captain Virat Kohli, who scored a magnificent 136 in the Pink ball Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata against Bangladesh, has regained the top rank amongst Test batsmen by overtaking Australian Steve Smith.
While Kohli was piling on the runs in India after a rare failure in the Indore Test, Smith was unable to match up to his high standards in the series against Pakistan where he managed to score only 40 runs with an average of 20.
Along with Kohli, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are also part of the top ten amongst batsmen in Test cricket and stand at fourth and sixth respectively.
Another notable change in rank came for Australia’s David Warner, who after a terrible Ashes series, returned to form with a record breaking 335 not out against Pakistan in the Adelaide Test. Warner moved up 12 spots to fifth for his efforts, and teammate Marnus Labuschagne scored two centuries against Pakistan also made significant gains in his ranking as he broke into the top ten after being ranked as low as 110th at the start of the year.
England captain Joe Root, criticised in recent times for not being able to convert starts into big knocks, announced his return to form with a double century (226) against New Zealand in the Hamilton Test to occupy the seventh spot on the rankings. Rory Burns’s second Test century has pushed him into the top 40 for the first time.
India’s Mohammed Shami, who has been a crucial part of the resurgence in the fast bowling department recently, has also moved into the top ten rankings for the bowlers after his brilliant performances against South Africa and Bangladesh where he took 22 wickets in five Tests.
While Shami stands at 10th, ace off-spinner R Ashwin, who took 21 wickets in five Tests at home, is on ninth with the recovering Jasprit Bumrah on fifth. The Delhi Capitals spinner also features in the top ten of the all-rounders rankings in Tests where he is fifth and Ravindra Jadeja is second.
However it was Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who after some terrific bowling against Pakistan, made significant gains in the rankings too and has moved up to sixth in the all-rounders list.
Left-arm Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, one of the stars of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018, has moved up 13 places to 49th among bowlers.