Virat Kohli re-enters the top 10 of ICC Test players' rankings; Jasprit Bumrah jumps to 5th spot

R Ashwin remains the no.1 ranked Test bowler.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, revealed the latest update of the ICC Test Players rankings. It showed that Virat Kohli had re-entered the top 10 of the batting rankings, while Jasprit Bumrah jumped to the 5^th spot in the bowling rankings.

Kohli, a previous top-ranked batter who fell out of the top 10 in mid-2022, has moved up four spots to ninth place with scores of 38 and 76 but is still 103 rating points behind top-ranked Kane Williamson of New Zealand (864 points).

Joe Root comes in second with 859 rating points, while Steve Smith comes in third with 820.

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"Former India captain Virat Kohli has returned to the top 10 of the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings while South Africa opener Dean Elgar has made a huge jump after his Player of the Match effort in the first Test of the two-match ICC World Test Championship series in Centurion, which the home side won by an innings and 32 runs to take a 1-0 lead," ICC announced in a official statement.

However, captain Rohit Sharma fell four places to 14th position in the Test rankings. On the other hand, Dean Elgar, playing his farewell series, jumped to the 17^th spot and is certain to retire as a top-20 batter.

Jasprit Bumrah re-entered the bowlers rankings, finishing fifth (767), just behind compatriot Ravindra Jadeja (774).

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne has risen one spot to seventh after scoring a half-century in the first innings of the second Test against Pakistan. Pakistani players Saud Shakeel (up one spot to 13th), Abdullah Shafique (up three spots to 21st), and Mohammed Rizwan (up four spots to 27th) also saw movement in ICC rankings.

(ANI/ICC inputs)