Kohli, Rahane Slips Down in ICC Test rankings; Smith Overtakes Kohli, Stokes Dethrones Rahane

Team India’s Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have slipped down by one spot to number three and number seven respectively in ICC Test rankings for the batsman. Australian batsman Steve Smith overtook Kohli while Ben Stokes dethroned Rahane.

The one-day squad’s captain recently pulled out of the India VS Australia series to take paternity leave. He and his actor wife Anushka welcomed a baby girl on the same day India fought with tooth and nail and drew the 3rd test with Australia.

Middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara gained two places and was placed at the 8th position in the ranking. His knocks of 50 and 77 helped him to boost from 10th position to 8th. Rishabh Pant too saw an astronomical boost in his ranking. Thanks to his scores of 36 and an aggressive 97, he gained 19 positions and now sits at the 26th position. Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin, who played incredibly strong cricket in the face of a probable defeat in the third test saw gains as well.

Talking about the upper echelon of the ranking, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson sits comfortably at the first position in the ranking. Thanks to his 238-run knock during the second Test against Pakistan, Williamson now has the highest-ever ratings by a New Zealand player.

The much-admired New Zealand skipper was named Player of the Series and has reached 919 points in the ICC Test Batting Rankings. He has broken his own record of having the highest rating points by a New Zealand batsman, which was 915 in 2018. ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Richard Hadlee was previously the only kiwi batsman that touched the 900-point mark. In December 1985, Richard Hadlee reached a career-high of 909 points.

In other changes, Labuschagne reached his career-best 866 points to be retained at 4th position. Marnus Labuschagne scored an impressive 91 and 73 in two innings during the thrilling Test in Sydney.

This is the complete list of the Top 10 Test Cricket Batsmen by ICC