Virat Kohli is back and how! The former Indian skipper, who had been under heavy criticism, has been showing glimpses of his old self since the Asia Cup last year.
After breaking his century drought and hammering his maiden T20I ton, the vintage Virat Kohli has gotten his dangerous scoring prowess back. Furthermore, with the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 set to be held in India this year, Kohli has definitely given selectors a run for their money, having started the year on a smashing note.
During the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, fans at home witnessed the destructive batter – Virat Kohli. The dashing batter topped the scoring charts of the Lankan series after hammering two centuries in the three-match series.
His return to form with the willow is certainly reflecting on the ICC rankings. During the Lankan series Kohli hammered two centuries, which saw him score a whopping 283 runs from three matches.
Babar Azam sits on top
The impressive show saw Virat Kohli jump two placed to fourth overall in the latest ICC rankings list of ODI batters.
Though the former Indian skipper is catching up fast with a total of 750 points, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam still remains comfortably at the top. Azam holds a stranglehold on the top position of the ODI rankings with a whopping total of 887 rating points. Second on the ICC ODI ranking list is Rassie van der Dussen with 766 points, while knocking on his heels is Quiton de Kock. South African de Kock completes the top three with 759 points, nine more than Kohli.
Siraj, Gill climb the charts
Apart from Kohli, the inform Shubman Gill also made giant strides in the latest ICC rankings. Gill hammered a century and a half-century during the Lankan series, to finish as the second highest run score. The opener scored 207 runs at an average of 69. This propelled Gill to jump ten places and move to 26th overall in the ODI batters ranking.
Coming to the bowlers, Mohammed Siraj’s show during the Lankan series saw him make giant strides in the ranking. Not only Siraj, but Kuldeep Yadav was also rewarded in the rankings. The 28-year-old Siraj, who pocketed nine wickets doing the Sri Lanka series, jumped a whopping 15 spots to be ranked third on the list.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep who picked up five wickets from two matches against Sri Lanka, gained seven places to be ranked 21st on the ODI bowler’s list.
