Kohli moves ahead of Lara, closes gap on Gavaskar

• Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah achieve career-high rankings

ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 Virat Kohli has moved ahead of ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Brian Lara in the all-time list of batsmen with highest-ever ranking points in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were updated today following the conclusion of the Johannesburg Test.

Second-ranked Kohli had started the third and final Test on 900 points and earned 12 points following contributions of 54 and 41 in his side’s 63 runs victory. This means he is now on 912 points and in 26th position on the 31-batsman list, which is headed by Don Bradman (961 points).

Number-one ranked Steve Smith of Australia is second on the all-time list with 947 points.

Kohli, while moving from 31st to 26th position, has leapfrogged Lara (911), Kevin Pietersen (909), Hashim Amla (907), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (901) and Michael Clarke (900).

Kohli now has his compatriot and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar firmly within his sights, who had achieved 916 points following The Oval Test against England in 1979. Kohli will now aim to gain five points and move ahead of Gavaskar either in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June or during the five-Test series against England in August/September.

Batsmen to improve their rankings after the Johannesburg Test include Amla in seventh (up by one place), Dean Elgar in 12th (up by two places), Ajinkya Rahane in 18th (up by five places), while batsmen to head in the wrong direction are Faf du Plessis in 14th (down by two places), Lokesh Rahul in 20th (down by two places), Quinton de Kock in 27th (down by seven places) and Aiden Markram in 48th (down by 10 places).

There is no change in the top five of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as James Anderson comfortably leads Kagiso Rabada, Ravindra Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The only bowlers inside the top 20 to improve their rankings include Morne Morkel, who has moved up two places to ninth, and Mohammed Shami, who has lifted to a career-best 15th position after earning two places.

India’s trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are also on the charge.

Kumar has entered the top 20 in 20th position for the first time in his career after lifting two places, Sharma is now in 26th spot after rising three places and Bumrah is on a career-high 46th position after vaulting 36 places.

Kumar and Shami have also improved their rankings in the all-rounders’ list, which is headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. Kumar has risen eight places to join Rabada in 12th position and Shami has moved from 27th to 17th.

List of batsmen with 900 or more ranking points:

MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings (as on 28 January, following Johannesburg Test)

BATSMEN (top 20)

BOWLERS (top 20)

ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)

*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.

!indicates career-highest rating