Kohli moves up to No 4 in ODI rankings; Axar, Shami also make gains

Dubai: India batting superstar Virat Kohli on Wednesday moved up a spot to reach fourth place in the ICC ODI rankings for batters after his match-winning 84 against Australia in Champions Trophy semifinal.

Kohli’s rise, however, coincided with skipper Rohit Sharma dropping down two positions to fifth as South Africa’s Heinrich Klaasen also moved up one spot to take the third.

India vice-captain and opener Shubman Gill continues to hold the top spot followed by Pakistan’s Babar Azam at second.

Among other Indians, spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel and pacer Mohammed Shami also moved up in the rankings for all-rounders and bowlers respectively.

Patel moved up to 13th spot with career-high 194 rating points in the latest release as per the ICC among all-rounders, which saw Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai replacing compatriot Mohammad Nabi in the process.

Omarzai now has a total of 296 rating points and moved up two positions to claimed the No 1 ranking.

With eight wickets so far in the Champions Trophy, Shami, meanwhile, moved up three positions to reach 11th with 609 rating points.

New Zealand’s Matt Henry (649) claimed the third spot after moving up three positions among bowlers behind Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana at the top spot and South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj at second.