Virat Kohli has overtaken Steve Smith to become the numero uno Test batsman in the ICC rankings. The Indian captain dethroned Smith on the back of his brilliant century in the Day-night Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens.
Kohli had held the top spot for a long time before Smith reclaimed it with a legendary performance (774 runs in 4 Tests) in Australia’s retaining campaign in England.
However, Virat scored a career-best 254* in the second Test against South Africa in Pune and then made 136 versus Bangladesh while Steve Smith managed to register the scores of 4 and 36 in a two-Test series against Pakistan which was dominated by David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne.
In the latest rankings released by the ICC, Kohli has attained the pole position with 928 ratings points and he has left behind Smith by a margin of 5 rating points.
David Warner jumped up 12 spots to reach 5th spot in ICC Test rankings after his record-breaking 335 not out in the Pink ball Test against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval. His teammate Marnus Labuschagne has also risen to the 8th spot by virtue of his twin tons in the same series.
Apart from Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara (791 rating points; 4th spot) and Ajinkya Rahane (759 rating points; 6th spot) are the two other Indians to feature in the top 10 list.
England captain Joe Root, who was struggling for form, has also returned to the top 10 after his remarkable double ton in the Hamilton Test against New Zealand. Pakistan’s Babar Azam moved two spots to 13th after scoring 210 runs in two Tests down under.
Top 10 batsman in ICC Test rankings:
1. Virat Kohli - 928
2. Steve Smith - 923
3. Kane Williamson - 877
4. Cheteshwar Pujara - 791
5. David Warner - 764
6. Ajinkya Rahane - 759
7. Joe Root - 752
8. Marnus Labuschagne 731
9. Henry Nicholls - 726
10. Dimuth Karunaratne - 723
