Dubai [UAE], February 26 (ANI): India’s stalwart batter Virat Kohli on Wednesday rose in the latest ICC Men’s Player Rankings after he scored his 51st ODI century in a superb display of batting against Pakistan at the ICC Champions Trophy in Dubai.
Kohli gained one place on the latest rankings for ODI batters to move back into fifth spot overall, as per the ICC who released the new ODI rankings today.
This brings three Indian batters inside the top five. Opener Shubman Gill (first) and skipper Rohit Sharma (third) maintained their places at the top of the batting rankings courtesy of their own decent hauls at the ongoing Champions Trophy event.
Gill actually increased his lead at the top of the rankings, with former Pakistan captain Babar Azam still in on the second spot despite a lean trot at the Champions Trophy so far.
Kohli is the only player at the Champions Trophy to make any ground inside the top 10 on the list for ODI batters, but there are a host of stars on the outskirts of the top 10 to make inroads on the latest rankings that the ICC updated on Wednesday.
Will Young (up eight spots to 14th), Ben Duckett (up 27 places to equal 17th) and Rachin Ravindra (up 18 rungs to 24th) are among the biggest movers after centuries at the tournament, while India right-hander KL Rahul (up two places to 15th) and South Africa dasher Rassie van der Dussen (up three places to 16th) also made some gains in their rankings.
Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana remained at the top of the rankings for ODI bowlers despite the fact his side are not at the Champions Trophy, with Afghanistan tweaker Rashid Khan still his closest challenger in second place.
South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj (up one place to equal fourth), New Zealand quick Matt Henry (up two rungs to sixth) and Australia veteran Adam Zampa (up two spots to 10th) all make ground inside the top 10 for ODI bowlers while Proteas pacer Kagiso Rabada (up four spots to 16th) and Kiwi Michael Bracewell (up 31 places to 26th) are among the biggest movers elsewhere.
Bracewell also gained some ground on the latest list for ODI all-rounders, with the 34-year-old moving up 26 places to 11th following his four-wicket haul against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi at the Champions Trophy.
New Zealand teammate Ravindra (up six places to 15th) also made some movement in this category, with Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi still leading the way. (ANI)
