Dubai, 10 Dec 

India’s batting legend Virat Kohli continued his remarkable resurgence in ODI cricket, rising to the No. 2 spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday. His stellar performance in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against South Africa earned him the Player of the Series award, with an impressive 302 runs across the contests.

Kohli has been chasing the top position since Pakistan’s Babar Azam replaced him in April 2021. Now, the former India captain finds himself just eight rating points away from regaining the No. 1 spot. His unbeaten 65 in the final ODI at Visakhapatnam helped him climb two places.

At the top remains India captain Rohit Sharma, who amassed 146 runs in the same series and retained his position as the leading ODI batter. Shubman Gill secured his No. 5 spot despite missing the series, while stand-in skipper KL Rahul improved two places to 12th.

Among bowlers, India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav jumped three spots to third. South African players Quinton de Kock (13th), Aiden Markram (25th), and Temba Bavuma (37th) also made notable progress.

In T20I rankings, India’s Axar Patel moved up to 13th, Arshdeep Singh to 20th and Jasprit Bumrah to 25th after India’s dominant 101-run victory in Cuttack.

In Tests, Yashasvi Jaiswal remains India’s highest-ranked batter at eighth. Gill and Pant climbed to 11th and 13th, respectively. Australia’s Mitchell Starc rose to No. 3 among Test bowlers following exceptional Ashes performances that earned him 18 wickets in two matches. India’s Mohammad Siraj (12th), Ravindra Jadeja (13th) and Kuldeep (14th) also advanced.  

England’s Harry Brook, however, dropped to No. 4 due to a lean run in Australia, with Kane Williamson and Steve Smith gaining ground behind No. 1 Joe Root.