After India’s crushing defeat against England in the rescheduled fifth Test At Edgbaston, former Indian skipper Virat Kohli has dropped out of the top 10 batsmen in the ICC rankings.
Kohli, who hasn’t scored an international hundred in the last three years, eked out scores of 11 and 20 at Edgbaston. This is the first time in the last six years that he has not found a place among the top 10 Test batsmen.
However, there is a silver lining for India as their wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant is catapulted into the list of top 10 Test batsmen after his whirlwind ton in the fifth Test. The left-hander thumped 146 runs off just 111 balls in the first innings and followed it up with 57 in the match. He’s the only Indian batsman who is among the top 10 Test batsmen at present.
Joe Root, who cracked a brilliant century in the fourth innings of the Edgbaston Test, continues to be the no.1 Test batsman in the rankings with 923 rating points. In the last 19 months, the right-hander has smashed 11 Test tons and is amid a gargantuan run-fest.
The new addition to the list is England’s swashbuckling batsman Jonny Bairstow who hammered hundreds in both the innings (106 and 114*) of the fifth Test. The dasher has made an entry at the 10th spot in the rankings.
Before the New Zealand series, the 32-year-old was lying low at 47th place in the Test rankings for batsmen but after blasting 4 centuries in the last four matches, he has climbed directly to the No.10 position.
Overall, Bairstow has clouted six Test centuries in 2022 and his smashing performances reflect in the ICC Test rankings as well.
Though R Ashwin didn’t play the Edgbaston Test, he continues to be at the 2nd position in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. The list is headed by the Australian captain Pat Cummins (900 points). After snapping up five wickets in India’s first innings at Edgbaston, English seamer James Anderson has jumped to the no.6 spot.
Jasprit Bumrah, who captained India in the fifth Test, might have failed to come good in the fourth innings, but he is still the third-best Test bowler in the rankings with 828 points.