India captain Virat Kohli has retained the top position in the latest International Cricket Council Test batsmen’s rankings.
Kohli, who last featured in India’s 2-1 Test series win over Australia, is on 922 points. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (913) is second and Cheteshwar Pujara (881) third in the rankings released on Monday.
In the team rankings, India remain in the first place, followed by New Zealand (2) and South Africa (3) with England (4) and Australia (5) rounding up the top five. In the bowlers’ list, two Indians feature in the top 10 with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin holding the sixth and 10th spot respectively.
England pace spearhead James Anderson has been ruled out of the four-day Test against Ireland starting on Wednesday due to a right calf injury. Had the 36-year-old played the one-off Test, he would have got a chance to bridge the 16-point gap to Australia’s Pat Cummins.
Anderson was overtaken by South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada (ranked third) in November last year, and subsequently by current No 1 Cummins. In the all-rounders’ list, Jadeja is the best-ranked Indian at third spot. The 30-year-old sits behind West Indies’ Jason Holder and Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.