ICC rankings: Virat Kohli is back as No.1 ODI batter after four years

The 37-year-old dislodged compatriot Rohit Sharma from the top to claim numero uno position for the 11th time in his illustrious career.

India's batting ace Virat Kohli is back as No.1 batter in One-day Internationals (ODIs) as he replaced compatriot Rohit Sharma, who slipped to No.3 in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) world rankings released on Wednesday (January 14).

The 37-year-old claimed the top spot for the 11th time in his illustrious career, riding a run of impressive scores that includes 135, 102 and 65 not out in a home series against South Africa in November-December, as well as a fluent 74 not out against Australia in Sydney in October.

The former India captain first reached the summit of the ODI batting rankings in October 2013 and has now spent a total of 825 days at No.1, which is the most by an India batter.

He sits 10th in the all-time list, topped by the West Indies great Vivian Richards, who held the top position for an astounding 2,306 days.

New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell moved up to No.2 and the competition for the top spot could intensify in the coming days with just 10 points covering the top three batters.

In other notable changes in the ODI rankings, K.L Rahul moved one place up to place to 11th while Devon Conway is up three places to 29th.

Among the bowlers, Mohammad Siraj moved up five places to 15th while Kyle Jamieson moved up 27 places to 69th.

In the ICC Test Player Rankings, Travis Head and Steve Smith have advanced a slot each to third and fourth positions after their first innings centuries in the final Ashes Test as Australia won by five wickets in Sydney to complete a 4-1 victory in the ICC World Test Championship series.

England’s Joe Root finally got a Test century in Australia and finished as England’s top run-scorer in the series to consolidate his position at the top of the rankings while Harry Brook continues to hold on to the second position. Jacob Bethell’s knock of 154 has lifted him 25 places to 52nd.

In the Test bowling rankings, Mitchell Starc’s 31 wickets in Ashes have helped him reach third position from ninth at the start of the series and his fine efforts with the bat have also helped him move into the top five Test all-rounders.

In the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has moved up three places to second after finishing with five wickets in the three-match home series against Pakistan that finished 1-1.

(with ICC Media inputs)