Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli NEW DELHI: Indian cricket stars continue their climb up the ICC rankings, with Virat Kohli making a strong case for the No.1 ODI batsman position, moving into second place overall behind teammate Rohit Sharma.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Kohli, 37, has not retained the ODI number one spot since April 2021, when he was ousted by Pakistan’s Babar Azam, but his recent exploits against South Africa have moved him closer to reclaiming it. The right-hander was the Player of the Series, amassing 302 runs across three ODIs, including an unbeaten 65 in the series finale in Visakhapatnam. The performance moved him up two places in the latest rankings, leaving him just eight rating points behind Rohit, who has scored 146 runs in the series.
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The stage is set for an exciting showdown as Team India prepares to host New Zealand in a three-match ODI series from January 11, where both Rohit and Kohli will look to consolidate or claim the top spot.Other Indian players have also made notable gains. KL Rahul climbed two places to 12th among ODI batsmen, while Kuldeep Yadav moved up three places to third in the ODI bowling rankings. The Proteas trio of Quinton de Kock, Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma also saw upward movement despite South Africa losing the series 2-1.
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In T20Is, India’s Axar Patel (13th), Arshdeep Singh (20th) and Jasprit Bumrah (25th) advanced in India’s 101-run win over South Africa in Cuttack, while South African young prodigy Dewald Brevis entered the top 10 T20I batting order.Test cricket saw Mitchell Starc jump to a career-best third place in the bowling charts after taking 18 wickets in the first two Ashes Tests. Other gains included Rachin Ravindra moving up nine places to 15th and Tom Latham moving up six places for New Zealand, while West Indies’ Shai Hope and Justin Greaves also advanced significantly.With Kohli closing in on the ODI No. 1 position and several Indian players climbing the charts across formats, the rankings updates underscore India’s depth and dominance, setting up exciting individual and team battles in the coming months.
