Virat Kohli Back as No. 1 ODI Batsman, Breaks Sachin Tendulkar’s 19-year Ranking Record

Kohli is back on top of the ICC Rankings for batsmen in one-day international (ODI) cricket.

New Delhi: Indian skipper Virat Kohli has climbed to the top of the ICC Rankings for batsmen in one-day international (ODI) cricket with highest ever rating by an Indian batsman which helped him break the Indian record that previously stood in the name of Sachin Tendulkar with 887 points.

Kohli who smashed his 32nd ODI century on Sunday to help India win the series against New Zealand 2-1, is back on top with career-high rating points of 889.

“The 28-year-old Delhi batsman, who scored 263 runs in the series against New Zealand including knocks of 121 in the first ODI in Mumbai and 113 in the final ODI in Kanpur, has reached 889 points, which is the best ever by an India batsman. The previous highest points tally of 887 was managed by Sachin Tendulkar in 1998 and by Kohli earlier this year,” ICC said today.

Recently, Kohli had lost the top spot to South Africa’s star batsman AB de Villiers, who is currently No. 2 on the list with 872 points. Meanwhile, Australia’s vice-captain David Warner is No. 3 with 865 points.

The latest rankings update takes into account India’s home series against New Zealand, as well as the last match of the South Africa-Bangladesh series and the last two matches of the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series.

Kohli smashed two centuries in the three-match series against New Zealand and also won the Man-of-the-series award for his tremendous efforts. The 28-year-old Delhi batsman accumulated 263 runs in the series against the Black Caps, which included knocks of 121 in the first ODI in Mumbai and 113 in the final ODI in Kanpur.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma is the other Indian who has made it to the top 10 of the ODI batting rankings and holds the seventh position on the list. The next best Indian is wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni at 11th position.

Talking about the bowling department then Pakistan pace bowler Hasan Ali continues to lead the list while India speedster Jasprit Bumrah has achieved a career-best third position after finishing with six wickets in the series against New Zealand.

India as a team, are No. 2 on ICC ODI Team Rankings list, while South Africa are ahead of the Men in Blue by two points and hold the numero uno position with 121 points.