ICC Player Rankings: Virat Kohli surges into top 10 in Test rankings

The International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed the most recent ranking update on Wednesday. India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli began the new year on a positive note as he climbed to ninth place and re-entered the top 10 in the ICC Test rankings. “Former India captain Virat Kohli has returned to the top 10 of the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings while South Africa opener Dean Elgar has made a huge jump after his Player of the Match effort in the first Test of the two-match ICC World Test Championship series in Centurion, which the home side won by an innings and 32 runs to take a 1-0 lead,” the International Cricket Council said in an official statement.

Despite moving up four spots to ninth place with scores of 38 and 76, Kohli—a former top-ranked batter who dropped out of the top 10 in mid-2022—remains 103 rating points behind top-ranked Kane Williamson of New Zealand (864 points). Steve Smith is in third place with 820 rating points, behind Joe Root in second place with 859. In the meantime, Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, fell four spots to 14th in the Test rankings. Conversely, South African veteran Dean Elgar, who leapt 19 places to 17th (680) ahead of his last appearance in the first Test in Centurion, is guaranteed to retire as a top-20 batsman.

Jasprit Bumrah returned to the bowlers rankings after his Test cricket comeback, placing fifth (767), only behind fellow countryman Ravindra Jadeja (774). With a career-best rating of 268 and a three-place climb to 22nd (618) in the all-rounder rankings, Marco Jansen’s efforts paid off. Performances in Australia and Pakistan’s second Test are also taken into account in the most recent weekly update. After making a half-century in the first innings, Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne moved up one spot to seventh. Other players who have moved up are Mitchel Marsh (up 16 places to 52nd), Alex Carey (up four places to 41st), and others.

Saud Shakeel (up one rank to 13th), Abdullah Shafique (up three spots to 21st), and Mohammed Rizwan (up four spots to 27th) are the Pakistani hitters who advanced after Australia’s 79-run victory in the Melbourne Test, which gave them a 2-0 lead in the three-Test series. After hitting a half-century earlier in the week, Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran shot up to 33rd place with the bat, rising 14 spots.