Dubai, Dec 10: India’s batting legend Virat Kohli has climbed to the No. 2 position in the latest ICC ODI rankings, inching closer to reclaiming the top spot currently held by teammate Rohit Sharma.
Kohli, who last occupied the No. 1 ranking in April 2021 before being overtaken by Pakistan’s Babar Azam, made significant gains following his stellar performance in the recent three-match ODI series against South Africa. The 37-year-old was named Player of the Series after scoring a total of 302 runs, which propelled him two places up the chart to second overall — just eight rating points behind Rohit.
Rohit, meanwhile, retained his top position after compiling 146 runs in the same series, while Kohli’s unbeaten 65 in the final ODI at Visakhapatnam further strengthened his ranking push. Shubman Gill remained fifth despite missing the series, whereas stand-in skipper KL Rahul climbed two places to secure 12th. Among bowlers, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav rose three places to third.
Several South African players also made upward moves in the ODI rankings — Quinton de Kock (up to 13th), Aiden Markram (25th), and Temba Bavuma (37th).
In T20Is, India’s Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, and Jasprit Bumrah made notable progress following the team’s emphatic 101-run win in Cuttack, moving to 13th, 20th, and 25th respectively.
On the Test front, Yashasvi Jaiswal continues to be India’s top-ranked batter at No. 8, with Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant advancing to the 11th and 13th positions. Among bowlers, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc surged to a career-best third place after back-to-back Player of the Match performances in the opening Ashes Tests against England, claiming 18 wickets in two matches.
For India, Mohammad Siraj (12th), Ravindra Jadeja (13th), and Kuldeep Yadav (14th) each moved up a rung. England’s Harry Brook slipped to fourth among Test batters, while Kane Williamson and Steve Smith climbed to second and third spots respectively, trailing leader Joe Root.
