Kohli attains rare double in ICC Rankings

⦁ India captain becomes only the second batsman to cross the 900-point mark concurrently in Tests and ODIs
⦁ Rashid Khan and Jasprit Bumrah take joint-top position among bowlers; Rashid also moves into top-five among all-rounders

Virat Kohli’s prolific run with the bat has helped him attain the rare feat of crossing the 900-point mark in both Tests and ODIs after the latest update in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings, which also saw Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan and India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah take the joint-top position among bowlers.

Kohli has become only the second batsman after South Africa’s AB de Villiers to attain the 900-point mark concurrently in both forms of the game and one among only five to have crossed 900 points in both forms of the game as he consolidated his top position with 558 runs in the 5-1 series win over South Africa, during which he slammed three centuries.

Kohli has thus moved ahead of Brian Lara in the all-timers’ list, having also overtaken him in the all-timers’ Test list last month. Kohli is now seventh in the ODI list of all-time rankings that is led by Vivian Richards with 935 points and the India captain is now a good 22 points clear of Sachin Tendulkar, whose ODI career high of 887 points came against Zimbabwe in January 1998. Kohli’s aggregate is the best since Brian Lara reached 908 points in March 1993.

India opener Shikhar Dhawan, who aggregated 323 runs in the South Africa series, is another notable gainer in the latest rankings even as a clutch of Indian bowlers made rapid strides in the latest rankings, including the wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.

Leg-spinner Chahal has moved up 21 slots to eighth position with 16 wickets in the South Africa series while Chinaman bowler Yadav’s 17 scalps have helped him move up 47 places to take the 15th position. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s eight wickets have lifted him two places to take the joint-first position.

Rashid has joined Bumrah at the top with 16 wickets in the series against Zimbabwe which Afghanistan won 4-1 to become the youngest to attain top ranking. His 51 runs in two innings in the series, including a brisk 43 in the final match in Sharjah on Monday, has also helped him break into the top-five in the list of all-rounders while he has also moved up 11 slots to take 114th place among batsmen.

Other Afghanistan players to gain in the latest rankings include batsmen Rahmat Shah (up 39 places to 42nd), Javed Ahmadi (up 18 places to 83rd) and Najibullah Zadran (up 23 places to 93rd) and off-spin bowler Mohammad Nabi (up seven places to 11th).

For South Africa, Faf du Plessis’ 120-run knock in the first ODI against India, after which he was ruled out due to an injury, has seen him gain one slot to reach eight position.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan have overtaken Zimbabwe in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings. Afghanistan have gained four points to take the 10th position with 55 points while Zimbabwe have lost three points to be on 50 points.

New Zealand v England series

Meanwhile, England and New Zealand feature in a five-match ODI series starting on 25 February at Hamilton, with the home side having the chance to overtake the opposition by winning the series 3-2. A 3-2 series win will help New Zealand overtake England on decimal points while both teams can reach the second position with a 5-0 win.

Series scenarios:

⦁ New Zealand beats England 5-0: New Zealand 119 points; England 113 points

⦁ New Zealand beats England 4-1: New Zealand 117 points; England 114 points

⦁ New Zealand beats England 3-2: New Zealand 116 points (ahead on decimals); England 116

⦁ England beats New Zealand 3-2: England 117 points; New Zealand 114 points

⦁ England beats New Zealand 4-1: England 119 points; New Zealand 113 points

⦁ England beats New Zealand 5-0; England 120 points; New Zealand 111 points

Series itinerary

England v New Zealand:

25 February: 1st ODI, Hamilton
28 February: 2nd ODI, Tauranga
3 March: 3rd ODI, Wellington
7 March: 4th ODI, Dunedin
10 March: 5th ODI, Christchurch

MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 20 February, after India v South Africa and Afghanistan v Zimbabwe series):

MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 20 February, after India v South Africa and Afghanistan v Zimbabwe series):

BATSMEN (top 20)

BOWLERS (top 20)

ALL-ROUNDERS (top 5)

*Indicates a provisional rating! Indicates career-best rating

For more information on player rankings, please click here.