NEW DELHI, Nov 6
Batting maestro Virat Kohli, who turned 36 on Wednesday, slipped out of the top 20 in the ICC Test batting rankings for the first time in a decade, after enduring a below-par series against New Zealand.
Kohli 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.
He 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 Kohli went past 9000 Test runs in the recent series against New Zealand, he 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.
The slump also impacted Kohli’s Test average, dipping 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.
Meanwhile, India keeper Rishabh Pant and New Zealand veteran Daryl Mitchell have been rewarded for strong performances during the recent third Test by making gains on the latest ICC men’s Test Batter Rankings that has caused a major shake-up inside the top 10. Pant rose five places to sixth overall on the back of a pair of half-centuries during the Test in a sure sign that he is back to his best following a serious car accident, with the attacking left-hander now just one spot behind the career-best fifth position he first occupied in July 2022.
Mitchell is one spot behind Pant – seventh overall – following his eight-place rise and first innings score of 82 against India, joining teammate Kane Williamson (second) as the only New Zealanders inside the top 10 rankings for Test batters.
England right-hander Joe Root maintained a healthy lead at the top of the category, with Kane Williamson, Harry Brook (third), Yashasvi Jaiswal (fourth) and Steve Smith (fifth) his closest challengers.
India’s Shubman Gill (up four places to 16th) also made some ground on the list for Test batters following a score of 90 in the first innings against New Zealand in Mumbai, while Player of the Series Will Young gained 29 spots to move to 44th overall for the Black Caps.
Experienced spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the big mover on the latest rankings for Test bowlers, with the Indian left-armer gaining two places to move to sixth behind No.1 ranked South African Kagiso Rabada following his 10-wicket haul against New Zealand.
His teammate Washington Sundar improved seven places to move to 46th on the same list for Test bowlers, while spin duo Ajaz Patel (up 12 places to 22nd) and Ish Sodhi (up three rungs to equal 70th) are among the gains from a New Zealand perspective.
