ISLAMABAD: India captain Virat Kohli has moved back to the top position among batsmen in the ICC ODI Player Rankings within 10 days of losing it to South Africa batsman AB de Villiers. In the latest rankings update released on Monday, which takes into account India’s home series against New Zealand which India won 2-1 on Sunday, as well as the last match of the South Africa-Bangladesh series and the last two matches of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series, Kohli has also reached a career-high in terms of rating points. The 28-year-old Delhi batsman, who scored 263 runs in the series against New Zealand including knocks of 121 in the first ODI in Mumbai and 113 in the final ODI in Kanpur, has reached 889 points, which is the best ever by an India batsman. The previous highest points tally of 887 was managed by Sachin Tendulkar in 1998 and by Kohli earlier this year. India opener Rohit Sharma’s 174 runs in the series against New Zealand, which included a fine 147 in the final match, has seen him reach a career-high rating of 799 points, even though he remains in seventh position. Similarly, Pakistan’s Babar Azam (fourth position) and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock (fifth position) have also attained their highest in terms of rating points.
South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis (up two places to 8th), former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (up one place to 11th), New Zealand batsman Tom Latham (up 15 places to a career-best 23rd), Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed (up three places to 37th) and Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Thirimanne (up six places to 47th) are among the batsmen to move up in the rankings.
The list for bowlers continues to be led by Pakistan pace bowler Hasan Ali while India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has reached a career-best third position after finishing with six wickets in the series against New Zealand. Other bowlers to move northwards include left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner of New Zealand (up two places to 14th) and Pakistan’s Imad Wasim (up 14 places to 27th). Adam Milne has also made significant movement, gaining 11 slots to reach 42nd position. India’s series win over New Zealand was not enough for them to overtake South Africa, who hold the top ranking in the ICC ODI Team Rankings.
Top 10 Batsmen
1: Virat Kohli (India)
2: AB de Villiers (South Africa)
3: David Warner (Australia)
4: Babar Azam (Pakistan)
5: Quinton de Kock (South Africa)
6: Joe Root (England)
7: Rohit Sharma (India)
8: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
9: Hashim Amla (South Africa)
10: Kane Williamson (New Zealand)
Top 10 Bowlers
1: Hasan Ali (Pakistan)
2: Imran Tahir (South Africa)
3: Jasprit Bumrah (India)
4: Josh Hazlewood (Australia)
5: Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
6: Mitchell Starc (Australia)
7: Trent Boult (New Zealand)
8: Akshar Patel (India)
9: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
10: Sunil Narine (West Indies)
10: Liam Plunkett (England)
Top 5 all-rounders
1: Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)
2: Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
3: M Nabi (Afghanistan)
4: Ben Stokes (England)
5: Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)
Published in Daily Times, October 31st 2017.