ICC Test rankings: Virat Kohli out of top 20 for first time in 10 years | Cricket News
Virat Kohli slipped out of the top 20 in the ICC Test batting rankings for the first time in 10 years on Wednesday.
Kohli, who turned 36 on Wednesday, last found himself outside the top 20 Test batters on the ICC rankings in December 2014. The slump back then for the former India captain had come on the back of a horror England tour where he scored 134 runs at a lowly 13.4 average across five Tests.
Kohli has maintained his spot among the top players in the format since, achieving the best years of his Test career between 2016 and 2018. Kohli vaulted to the top of the ICC Test batting rankings in 2018 and then became the first Indian to have achieved the No. 1 ranking in all three formats.
While the India No. 4 went past 9000 Test runs in the recent series against New Zealand, Kohli endured his worst-ever aggregate in a Test series at home where he has batted in at least six innings. Kohli aggregated only 93 runs in the series, averaging 15.50 with one half-century. Courtesy his poor run, Kohli’s Test average has dipped below 48.00 now — 47.83 — from the high of 55.10 in October 2019. The last time his Test average was below 48 was November 2016.
Kohli fell eight spots to 22 in the rankings while India captain Rohit Sharma slipped to 26 in the rankings.
Jaiswal, Pant, Gill top Indians
While England’s Joe Root continues his dominance atop the batting rankings, Yashasvi Jaiswal is placed the highest among Indians at No. 4. He is followed by Rishabh Pant at No. 6 and Shubman Gill at No. 16.
South Africa Kagiso Rabada consolidated his position at the top of the bowlers’ table by gaining 11 rating points to 872. Jasprit Bumrah (No. 3), R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are the Indian bowlers in the top 10.
