KOHLI MOVES AHEAD OF LARA, CLOSES THE GAP ON GAVASKAR

Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah achieve career-high rankings

ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 Virat Kohli has moved ahead of ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Brian Lara in the all-time career-high MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, which were updated today following the conclusion of the Johannesburg Test.

Second-ranked Kohli had started the third and final Test on 900 points and earned 12 points following contributions of 54 and 41. This means he is now on 912 points and in 26th position on the all-time list, which is headed by Don Bradman (961 points). Current number-one ranked batsman Steve Smith is second in the all-time list on 947 points.

While moving from 31^st to 26^th position, Kohli has leapfrogged Lara (911), Kevin Pietersen (909), Hashim Amla (907), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (901) and Michael Clarke (900).

Kohli now has his compatriot and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sunil Gavaskar – who peaked at 916 points following The Oval Test against England in 1979 – firmly within his sights. The India captain will now aim to gain five points and move ahead of Gavaskar either in the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June or during the five-Test series against England in August/September.

Other batsmen to improve their rankings after the Johannesburg Test include Amla in seventh (up by one place), Dean Elgar in 12^th (up by two places), Ajinkya Rahane in 18^th (up by five places), while those heading in the wrong direction are Faf du Plessis in 14^th (down by two places), Lokesh Rahul in 20^th (down by two places), Quinton de Kock in 27^th (down by seven places) and Aiden Markram in 48^th(down by 10 places).

There is no change in the top five of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, where James Anderson comfortably leads Kagiso Rabada, Ravindra Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The only bowlers inside the top 20 to improve their rankings are Morne Morkel, who has moved up two places to ninth, and Mohammed Shami, who has risen two places to a career-best 15^th position.

India’s trio of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are also on the charge.

Kumar has entered the top 20 for the first time in his career after lifting two places to take 20^th position, Ishant Sharma is now in 26^th spot after rising three places and Bumrah is at a career-high 46^th position after vaulting 36 places. 

Kumar and Shami have also improved their rankings in the all-rounders’ list, which is still headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. Kumar has lifted eight places to join Rabada in 12^th position and Shami has moved from 27^th to 17^th.

All-time MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 28 January 2018):

MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings (as on 28 January, following Johannesburg Test)

BATSMEN (top 20)

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Points    Avge      Highest Rating

   1          ( – )         Steve Smith          Aus         947!       63.75     947 v Eng at Sydney 2018

   2          ( – )         Virat Kohli             Ind          912!       53.40     912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018

   3          ( – )         Joe Root               Eng         881         53.28     917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015

   4          ( – )         Kane Williamson   NZ          855         50.62     893 v Aus at Perth 2015

   5          ( – )         David Warner       Aus         827         48.77     880 v NZ at Perth 2015

   6          ( – )         C. Pujara               Ind          810         50.51     888 v SL at Nagpur 2017

   7          (+1)        Hashim Amla        SA          771         49.08     907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013

   8          (-1)         Azhar Ali               Pak         755         46.62     787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

   9          ( – )         D. Chandimal        SL           743!       43.94     743 v Ind at Delhi 2017

  10         ( – )         Alastair Cook        Eng         742         46.35     874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012

  11         ( – )         Ross Taylor          NZ          739         48.04     871 v Win at Hamilton 2013

  12         (+2)        Dean Elgar            SA          736         42.07     740 v NZ at Dunedin 2017

  13         ( – )         AB de Villiers        SA          699         49.92     935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014

  14         (-2)         Faf du Plessis       SA          697         45.10     734 v Ind at Centurion 2018

  15         ( – )         Jonny Bairstow     Eng         692         39.12     772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017

  16         ( – )         Kraigg Brathwaite Win         690         37.43     701 v Eng at Headingley 2017

  17         ( – )         Usman Khawaja   Aus         685         45.80     747 v Pak at Sydney 2017

  18=       (+1)        Shaun Marsh        Aus         660!       40.87     660 v Eng at Sydney 2018

               (+5)        Ajinkya Rahane    Ind          660         43.68     825 v NZ at Indore 2016

  20         (-2)         Lokesh Rahul       Ind          657*       40.50     761 v SL at Pallekele 2017

BOWLERS (top 20)

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Points    Avge      Highest Rating

   1          ( – )         James Anderson   Eng         887         27.40     896 v Win at Lord’s 2017

   2          ( – )         Kagiso Rabada     SA          875         22.04     888 v Ind at Cape Town 2018

   3          ( – )         Ravindra Jadeja   Ind          844         23.73     899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017

   4          ( – )         Josh Hazlewood   Aus         814         25.77     863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017

   5          ( – )         R. Ashwin              Ind          803         25.56     904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016

   6          ( – )         Rangana Herath   SL           799         28.04     867 v Zim at Harare 2016

   7          ( – )         Vernon Philander  SA          791         21.85     912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013

   8          ( – )         Neil Wagner          NZ          784         27.87     785 v Win at Wellington 2017

   9          (+2)        Morne Morkel       SA          773         28.08     776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011

  10=       (-1)         Nathan Lyon         Aus         769         31.64     774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017

               (-1)         Mitchell Starc        Aus         769         27.73     805 v Pak at Brisbane 2016

  12         (+1)        Trent Boult            NZ          725         28.56     825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015

  13         (-1)         Dale Steyn            SA          722         22.32     909 v Win at Centurion 2014

  14         ( – )         Yasir Shah            Pak         704         29.44     878 v Eng at Lord’s 2016

  15         (+2)        M. Shami              Ind          703!       28.90     703 v SA at Johannesburg 2018

  16         (-1)         Stuart Broad         Eng         683         29.33     880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016

  17         (-1)         Tim Southee         NZ          682         31.45     799 v Win at Jamaica 2014

  18         ( – )         Shakib Al Hasan   Ban         668         32.35     705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

  19         ( – )         Keshav Maharaj   SA          634*       26.78     695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017

  20         (+2)        B. Kumar               Ind          626*!      26.09     626 v SA at Johannesburg 2018

ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)

Rank      (+/-)        Player                   Team     Points    Highest Rating

   1          ( – )         Shakib Al Hasan   Ban         438        489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017

   2          ( – )         Ravindra Jadeja   Ind          391        438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017

   3          ( – )         R. Ashwin              Ind          368        493 v Eng at Mohali 2016

   4          ( – )         Ben Stokes           Eng         358 /*    396 v Win at Lord’s 2017

   5          ( – )         Vernon Philander  SA          322        376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014