India captain Virat Kohli is back on the top spot in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test rankings.
Australian cricketer, Steve Smith, has slipped in the latest list to 923 points after Adelaide Test against Pakistan from 931 points before the match.
It could be recalled that the Indian skipper had struck a fine 136 in the day-night Kolkata Test against Bangladesh last week to reach 928 points.With the latest ranking, he is now five points clear away from Smith’, who suffered a knock of 36 in the game against Pakistan
Cheteshwar Pujara remained on the fourth spot, while Ajinkya Rahane lost a spot coming down to the sixth position in the latest update.
He has been replaced by Jasprit Bumrah, who is now the highest-placed Indian among the bowlers. The position of Senior off-spinner R Ashwin remained unchanged as he maintained the ninth spot in the rankings.
Australia’s opener David Warner moved up 12 places after his epic 335 not out to the fifth position while Marnus Labuschagne, who was ranked as low as 110th at the beginning of the year, is now in the top 10.
Also moving up the ladder is Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc. He has been rewarded for his performances, which moved in up four places to 14th after grabbing seven wickets in the Adelaide Test. This is also due to the results of the drawn New Zealand -England Test in Hamilton and the one in Luck now where the West Indies defeated Afghanistan by nine wickets.
Also moving up two places to occupy the 13th spot is Pakistan middle-order batsman Babar Azam. This is due to his fighting knock of 97 in the first innings, and his colleague, Shan Masood, also moved up ten places to reach a career-best 47th position. The left-handed opener struck 68 in the second innings.
England captain Joe Root has returned to the top after spending a week outside it. He is now occupying the seventh spot after his innings of 226 pulled him there from 11th.
Rory Burns has also found himself in the top 40 for the first time after his second Test century.
New Zealand’s Ross Taylor also moved up two places to occupy the 16th spot.
Another batsman, Tim Southee, also moved up one place to 13th among bowlers.
West Indies captain Jason Holder gained up a place after his five wickets helped him to achieve the feat, occupying the third spot behind Smith with a career-best 830 rating points, which consolidated his position at the top of the all-rounders’ list.
Off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall, who had a 10-wicket haul, has broken into the top 50 while centurion Shamarh Brooks gained six places to emerge 62nd.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
