Indian skipper Virat Kohli regained his second spot in the ICC Test batting rankings on Tuesday. The flamboyant batsman overtook New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson who dropped to place to the third. While Kohli remains the highest-ranked Indian batsman on the list, teammates Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are placed in the seventh and 10th spot respectively.
Virat Kohli with 886 rating points is only behind Australia’s Steven Smith who tops the list with 911 points. The 4th, 5th, and 6th spots are occupied by Aussie batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne, Pakistan’s Babar Azam, and an injured David Warner respectively. While Cheteshwar Pujara sits at the 7th with 766 points, Ben Stokes (760), Joe Root (738), and India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (726) completes the top-10 list.
As far as the ICC Test rankings for bowlers are concerned, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin are the only two Indians to find a place on the list. While Bumrah finds himself on the 8th spot, Ashwin made it to the 10th. The top three bowlers on the list are Australia’s Pat Cummins, England’s Stuart Broad, and New Zealand’s Neil Wagner.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin also feature in the top-10 list for ICC Test rankings for all-rounders which is headed by Englishman Ben Stokes. Jadeja is in third place with 397 rating points just behind West Indies’ Jason Holder. Ashwin is placed at 6th with 281 points to his name.
In the ICC Test rankings for teams, India is placed third after New Zealand’s 2-0 win over the West Indies saw them rise to the second spot. While India has 114 rating points, both Australia and New Zealand have 116 points with the Aussies being ahead on decimal points.
However, India’s four-match Test series against the Aussies, starting Thursday in Adelaide, will give them a chance to climb up the ladder.