India’s Virat Kohli has brought in the new year by moving back into the top ten of the ICC Player Rankings, climbing to ninth after the latest update on Wednesday.
Kohli’s 38 and 76 in India’s defeat to South Africa was enough for the 35-year-old to move four places (761), positioned as the top India batter in the list.
On the other side, Proteas stalwart Dean Elgar will likely bow out as a top-20 batter after his exploits in the first Test in Centurion, climbing 19 places to 17th (680) ahead of his final appearance.
Elgar stuck an imperious 185 against the tourists to set up an innings victory, helping the Proteas to 12 World Test Championship points in the process.
Over in Australia, their Boxing Day Test meeting with Pakistan saw minor movements on the batting front, with Mitchell Marsh’s flurry leading to the most noteworthy change, moving 16 place up to 52nd (504). Mohammad Rizwan enjoyed a four-place leap after his aggressive knock, while Travis Head kept his top 10 spot despite a quiet Boxing Day Test and a four-spot dip, with a rating of 754.
New Zealand Kane Williamson still holds a marginal lead (864) from Joe Root (859), with Australia’s Steve Smith (820) in third looking to climb during the Sydney Test beginning on Wednesday.
On the Test bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah re-entered the rankings following his return to Test cricket, positioned in fifth (767), marginally behind compatriot Ravindra Jadeja (774). Marco Jansen’s efforts led to a three-place jump to 22nd (618), though saw an five-place jump in the all-rounder rankings to 8th, moving to a career best rating of 268.
Over in the Australia/Pakistan series, new face Aamer Jamal continues to make a strong first-series impression, moving up another 17 spots on the bowling rankings to 57th.
The quick claimed 3/64 and 2/74, also scoring crucial runs and moving up 34 rungs to 68th on the all-rounder rankings.
Movements also were made in the T20I Player Rankings, with Bangladesh taking on New Zealand and the UAE hosting Bangladesh.
Mitch Santner’s four-wicket haul in Mount Maunganui provided the biggest headline in movements across the shortest format, moving up eight places to eighth (657). Shoriful Islam’s excellent week led to a 32 spot jump, with Mustafizur Rahman also moving five spots to 22nd (605).
There was action aplenty in Sharjah with Afghanistan edging the Emiratis 2-1 in the three-match series, with players from both sides enjoying jumps.
Afghan batter Ibrahim Zadran led the moves with the bat, enjoying a 14-spot leap to 33rd following a half-century among his week. On the bowling side, UAE’s Ali Naseer (up 29 places) and Muhammad Jawadullah (up 22 spots) were the biggest movers.
