Another day and another milestone for Virat Kohli. Each time he steps onto the field, the history books are updated. The Indian skipper is now placed No.2 in the ICC Test batsmen’s rankings. His magnificent run in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka has helped him attain the career-best ranking in the whites.
Before the series, he was placed 6th in the rankings and a tally of 610 runs from 3 Tests has helped him surpass David Warner, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kane Williamson and Joe Root to reach the 2nd spot. Virat Kohli went past 3-figure mark in each of the Tests that included consecutive double centuries in 2 innings.
He scored 243 runs in the first innings of the Kotla Test which happened to be his highest score in Test cricket. A 50 in the second innings took his tally to 293 runs in the game. The 29-year-old was adjudged the Man of the Series for his outstanding performance.
Kohli is already the top-ranked batsman in ODI and T20I Rankings and now, he is only behind the Australian skipper Steve Smith in Tests who is at 938 rating, 45 clear of Kohli. The margin between the 2 is substantial at this stage but going by Kohli’s current form, he’ll challenge Smith for the No.1 spot there as well.
The Delhi-lad has a wonderful chance of topping all 3 formats simultaneously, a feat that has been achieved only by Ricky Ponting in 2005-06. Matthew Hayden is the only other batsman who has occupied the pole position in all formats but not simultaneously.
ICC Test Batsmen’s Rankings
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
| 1 | Steve Smith | Australia | 938 |
| 2 | Virat Kohli | India | 893 |
| 3 | Joe Root | England | 879 |
| 4 | Cheteshwar Pujara | India | 873 |
| 5 | Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 865 |
| 6 | David Warner | Australia | 815 |
| 7 | Hashim Amla | South Africa | 795 |
| 8 | Azhar Ali | Pakistan | 755 |
| 9 | Dinesh Chandimal | Sri Lanka | 743 |
| 10 | Dean Elgar | South Africa | 732 |
ICC Test Bowlers’ Rankings
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
| 1 | James Anderson | England | 894 |
| 2 | Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | 876 |
| 3 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 870 |
| 4 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 829 |
| 5 | RanganaHerath | Sri Lanka | 799 |
| 6 | Josh Hazlewood | Australia | 786 |
| 7 | Neil Wagner | New Zealand | 785 |
| 8 | Mitchell Starc | Australia | 775 |
| 9 | Nathan Lyon | Australia | 774 |
| 10 | Dale Steyn | South Africa | 748 |
ICC Test All-Rounders’ Rankings
| Rank | Player | Team | Rating |
| 1 | Shakib Al Hasan | Bangladesh | 438 |
| 2 | Ravindra Jadeja | India | 415 |
| 3 | Ben Stokes | England | 380 |
| 4 | Ravichandran Ashwin | India | 369 |
| 5 | Moeen Ali | England | 352 |
| 6 | Vernon Philander | South Africa | 319 |
| 7 | Mitchell Starc | Australia | 313 |
| 8 | RanganaHerath | Sri Lanka | 216 |
| 9 | Jason Holder | Windies | 212 |
| 10 | Chris Woakes | England | 206 |
ICC Test Teams’ Rankings
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | India | 124 |
| 2 | South Africa | 111 |
| 3 | England | 105 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 97 |
| 5 | Australia | 97 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 94 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 88 |
| 8 | Windies | 75 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 72 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 2 |