ICC Rankings: Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma - Battle for No.1 ODI batter heats up

NEW DELHI: India's cricket stars continue to climb the ICC rankings, with Virat Kohli making a significant push in the race for the No.1 ODI batter position, moving to second overall behind teammate Rohit Sharma.

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Kohli, 37, hasn't held the top ODI spot since April 2021 when Pakistan's Babar Azam displaced him, but his recent exploits against South Africa have propelled him closer to reclaiming it. The right-hander was Player of the Series, amassing 302 runs across three ODIs, including an unbeaten 65 in the series finale at Visakhapatnam. This performance boosted him two places in the latest rankings, leaving him just eight rating points behind Rohit, who scored 146 runs in the series.




The stage is set for an exciting showdown as Team India prepares to host New Zealand in a three-match ODI series starting January 11, where both Rohit and Kohli will look to consolidate or claim the top spot.

Other Indian players also made notable gains. KL Rahul climbed two places to 12th among ODI batters, while Kuldeep Yadav rose three spots to third in the ODI bowling rankings. The Proteas trio of Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram, and Temba Bavuma also saw upward movement despite South Africa losing the series 2-1.


In T20Is, India's Axar Patel (13th), Arshdeep Singh (20th), and Jasprit Bumrah (25th) moved up following India's 101-run win over South Africa in Cuttack, while South African prodigy Dewald Brevis entered the T20I top 10 for batters.

Test cricket saw Mitchell Starc leap to a career-best third on the bowling charts after 18 wickets in the first two Ashes Tests. Other gains included Rachin Ravindra moving nine places to 15th and Tom Latham climbing six rungs for New Zealand, while West Indies' Shai Hope and Justin Greaves also made significant headway.

With Kohli closing in on the No.1 ODI position and multiple Indian players climbing the charts across formats, the rankings updates underscore India's depth and dominance, setting up thrilling individual and team battles in the months ahead.