DUBAI: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday jumped one place to second in the ICC Test ranking for batsmen, which also features Chesteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane at the seventh and 10th positions respectively.
Kohli is the leading Indian batsman in the chart with 886 rating points behind Australia’s Steve Smith (911 points).
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson dropped a rung to the third spot.
He is followed by young Australian batting sensation Marnus Labuschagne, Pakistan’s Babar Azam and injured David Warner.
Pujara is seventh in the chart with 766 points, followed by Ben Stokes (760), Joe Root (738) and India Test vice-captain Rahane (726) to complete the top-10 list.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (779) and veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (756) are the two Indians to find a place in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers at eighth and 10th spots respectively.
The list is being headed by Australia’s Pat Cummins (904), followed by England’s Stuart Broad and New Zealand’s Neil Wagner.
Two other Indians — Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin — also feature in the top-10 list for ICC Test rankings for all-rounders, which is being topped by Stokes.
While Jadeja is placed third in the chart with 397 rating points behind West Indies’ Jason Holder, Ashwin is at sixth with 281 points.
In the ICC Test rankings for teams, India is currently placed third after New Zealand jumped to the second spot following its recent 2-0 series win over the West Indies.
India has 114 rating points, two points behind New Zealand and table-toppers Australia, who both have 116 points but the
Aussies are ahead on decimal points.
England is placed fourth ahead of Sri Lanka, South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
But India has a chance to move up the ranking ladder as it takes on Australia in the four-match Test series, starting Thursday in Adelaide.
—PTI

KR Desk