DUBAI: India star batter Virat Kohli and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar have made significant gains in the most recent ICC Men’s Player Rankings as a result of their good performances at the Asia Cup 2022.
At the Asia Cup, Kohli amassed an impressive 276 runs, with his first international century in nearly three years, as he rose 14 ranks to land in the 15th slot among all T20I batters. India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar also reaped the benefits of his good performance, moving up four spots to seventh.
All-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has also benefitted from his incredible performance in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022. After winning, the Player of the Tournament at the Asia Cup, the Sri Lanka match-winning player rose three spots to be placed sixth among bowlers and seven spaces to be fourth among all-rounders.
The Sri Lankan all-rounder took nine wickets throughout the competition, including three against Pakistan in the championship match. His performance was a big factor in the island nation’s success in winning the sixth Asia Cup. If Hasaranga can maintain his present form in the forthcoming T20 World Cup in Australia later this year, he might aim for first place on both ranking rankings.
On the list of T20I bowlers, the 25-year-old is currently just 100 rating points behind Australia’s Josh Hazlewood, and the top-to-bottom difference on the all-rounder ranks is even smaller.
Following the Asia Cup, Shakib Al Hasan, the captain of Bangladesh, surpassed Mohammad Nabi from Afghanistan to become the new number one T20I all-rounder.
After regaining his form at the Asia Cup, Kohli still has way to go before he can challenge for the top spot among T20I batters, but he is at least headed in the right direction.
The top T20I batter rankings saw the biggest movement towards the top with the champion right-hander, Lokesh Rahul up seven places to 23rd and Bhanuka Rajapaksa up 34 spots to 34th also making significant gains on the players there.
In a close race for first place, Pakistan’s seasoned batsman Mohammad Rizwan keeps the top spot in the T20I batter rankings, while South Africa’s Aiden Markram surpasses Babar Azam to take second. Haris Rauf (up nine spaces to joint 25th) and Mohammad Nawaz (up seven spots to 34th) of Pakistan were among the top movers on the list of T20I bowlers following impressive showings at the Asia Cup.
The latest Test player rankings did not show any movement among the top 10, although players from South Africa and England made significant gains after finishing a recent three-match series.
Ollie Pope, a right-handed batter, rose 17 spots to rank 29th overall on the list of batters, while teammate Ollie Robinson, a bowler, rose 11 spots to rank 15th after taking five wickets in the first innings of the third and deciding Test at The Oval, maintains his lead over England’s right-hander Ollie Pope.
Despite losing the series to Brendon McCullum’s team 2-1, speedster Marco Jansen’s performance in the series’ last Test will give South Africa optimism. A five-wicket haul of his own helped Jansen climb eight ranks to 26th place among Test bowlers and six spots to tie for 12th place among all-rounders as a result of his efforts.
The most notable winners of the recent changes to the ODI player rankings were the veteran combo of Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc, who won the recently concluded Chappell-Hadlee series 3-0. Smith, who scored 167 runs in the series, was rewarded by moving up 13 ranks to the 10th spot overall in the batter rankings. The seasoned left-armer will be happy with his three-place move to ninth overall on the list of ODI bowlers, even though Starc’s rise wasn’t nearly as spectacular.
Trent Boult of New Zealand, who concluded the series against Australia as the series’ best wicket-taker’ with 10 victims, keeps the top spot among ODI bowlers. (ANI)