Smith back as top-ranked Test batsman
- Kohli concedes top place after Wellington Test; Southee the big gainer for New Zealand
- Mushfiqur, Nayeem move up for Bangladesh; Zimbabwe’s Ervin close to career-best
This is the eighth time that Smith is on top of the rankings after first occupying the top position in June 2015. The last batsman apart from Smith and Kohli to be No. 1 is New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, for an eight-day period in December 2015.
In the latest update, that also includes the one-off Test between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in Mirpur, which the home side won by an innings and 106 runs, Williamson has gained 31 points after his innings of 89 due to the low team scores in the match and the highly-rated India attack, facts considered in the calculation of rating points. India opener Mayank Agarwal is back at a career-best 10th position with his highest aggregate points tally.
New Zealand’s Ross Taylor and Colin Grandhomme have moved up the batsmen’s list while fast bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult have made big gains after finishing with nine and five wickets, respectively. Southee has advanced eight spots to take sixth position, which is his highest since a career-best fifth place in June 2014. Boult has moved up four slots to take joint-13th position.
Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim has risen five places to return to the top 20 after his double-century in Mirpur while captain Mominul Haque has moved up five places to 39th after a score of 132. Nayeem Hasan is the big news for the team with his nine wickets lifting him 29 places to 38th position among bowlers. Abu Jayed has moved up 11 places to 46th.
Craig Ervine top-scored in both innings for Zimbabwe to progress 15 places. He is one place behind his best of 41st achieved in July 2017.
In the ICC World Test Championship, New Zealand are on 120 points after gaining 60 points for the Wellington victory. They had won 60 points in a 1-1 draw against Sri Lanka while this is the first match that top-placed India have lost.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 26 February 2020 after the Wellington and Mirpur Tests):
| Rank | (+/-) |
Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | (+1) | Steve Smith | Aus | 911 | 62.84 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 2 | (-1) | Virat Kohli | India | 906 | 54.30 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 3 | (+1) | K Williamson | NZ | 853 | 51.74 | 915 v Ban at Hamilton 2019 |
| 4 | (-1) | M Labuschagne | Aus | 827*! | 63.43 | 827 v NZ at Sydney 2020 |
| 5 | ( - ) | Babar Azam | Pak | 800! | 45.12 | 800 v Ban at Rawalpindi 2020 |
| 6 | ( - ) | David Warner | Aus | 793 | 48.94 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 7 | (+1) | Joe Root | Eng | 764 | 48.40 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 8 | (+1) | Ajinkya Rahane | India | 760 | 43.61 | 825 v NZ at Indore 2016 |
| 9 | (-2) | C Pujara | India | 757 | 48.83 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 10 | (+2) | M Agarwal | India | 727*! | 64.26 | 727 v NZ at Wellington 2020 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 13= | (+3) | Ross Taylor | NZ | 681 | 46.26 | 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013 |
| 20 | (+5) | Mushfiqur Rahim | Ban | 655 | 36.77 | 658 v Aus at Chittagong 2017 |
| 33 | (+6) | C de Grandhomme | NZ | 581*! | 37.38 | 581 v India at Wellington 2020 |
| 39 | (+5) | Mominul Haque | Ban | 556 | 40.85 | 661 v Pak at Mirpur 2015 |
| 42 | (+15) | Craig Ervine | Zim | 549*! | 35.52 | 549 v Ban at Mirpur 2020 |
| 64 | (+5) | Tom Blundell | NZ | 475* | 48.57 | 487 v Aus at Melbourne 2019 |
| 104= | (+11) | Nazmul Shanto | Ban | 288*! | 28.71 | 288 v Zim at Mirpur 2020 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) |
Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( - ) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 904 | 21.82 | 914 v Eng at Old Trafford 2019 |
| 2 | ( - ) | Neil Wagner | NZ | 843 | 26.63 | 859 v Aus at Melbourne 2019 |
| 3 | ( - ) | Jason Holder | WI | 830! | 26.37 | 830 v Afg at Lucknow 2019 |
| 4 | ( - ) | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 802 | 22.95 | 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 5 | ( - ) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 796 | 26.97 | 806 v NZ at Perth 2019 |
| 6 | (+8) | Tim Southee | NZ | 794 | 29.25 | 799 v WI at Jamaica 2014 |
| 7 | ( - ) | J Anderson | Eng | 775 | 26.83 | 903 v India at Lord's 2018 |
| 8 | (+2) | J Hazlewood | Aus | 769 | 26.20 | 863 v India at Bengaluru 2017 |
| 9 | (-1) | R Ashwin | India | 765 | 25.43 | 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016 |
| 10 | (+1) | Kemar Roach | WI | 763 | 27.13 | 780 v India at Jamaica 2019 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank |
(+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 13= | (+4) | Trent Boult | NZ | 751 | 27.84 | 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015 |
| 17 | (+1) | Ishant Sharma | India | 736! | 32.39 | 736 v NZ at Wellington 2020 |
| 38= | (+29) | Nayeem Hasan | Ban | 410*! | 20.47 | 410 v Zim at Mirpur 2020 |
| 46 | (+11) | Abu Jayed | Ban | 331*! | 32.45 | 331 v Zim at Mirpur 2020 |
All-rounders (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) |
Player | Team | Pts | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( - ) | Jason Holder | WI | 473! | 473 v Afg at Lucknow 2019 |
| 2 | ( - ) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 407 | 411 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2020 |
| 3 | ( - ) | R Jadeja | India | 397 | 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 4 | (+1) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 298 | 346 v India at Pune 2017 |
| 5 | (-1) | R Ashwin | India | 288 | 492 v Eng at Mohali 2016 |
*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
For more information on player rankings, please click here.