Rishabh Pant’s brilliant 97 in drawn SCG Test and then the match-winning 89* in Brisbane Test, has given his ranking enough propulsion to power him to the 13th spot in the latest ICC Test batting rankings.
This also makes Pant, who finished as the highest Indian run-scorer in the recently-concluded four-match Test series, the highest-ranked wicketkeeper-batsman in ICC batting rankings with 691 points, two places above South Africa’s Quinton de Kock, who is at 15th spot.
However, India captain Virat Kohli, who missed the last three Tests of the series for the birth of his daughter, lost his 3rd spot in batting rankings to Marnus Labuschagne. Labuschagne’s century in the Brisbane Test helped him leave the Indian batting genius behind.
England Joe Root, who slammed a double-century at Galle against Sri Lanka, leapfrogged Cheteshwar Pujara and Babar Azam to take the fifth spot in the list of batsmen. Kane Williamson retained his top spot in the rankings, followed by Steve Smith.
Shubman Gill, who scored two half-centuries including a career-best 91 in Brisbane Test’s fourth innings, rose from 68th to 47th position, while Pujara climbed to the 7th position with his superb effort during India's win.
Mohammed Siraj, who led India's attack in Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah's absence in Brisbane Test, jumped 32 places to reach the 45th position.
Debutant Washington Sundar entered the rankings in 82nd (batting) and 97th (bowling) positions; while Shardul Thakur reentered the batting list in 113th position and the bowling list in 65th position.
Pat Cummins retained his no.1 position in bowling rankings, while Josh Hazlewood overtook Tim Southee to secure fourth place.
