Virat Kohli has dropped significantly on the ICC Test rankings for batters. After mustering a mere 93 runs in six innings against New Zealand, he has fallen out of the top 20 rankings for the first time since 2014.
December 2014 was the last time Kohli was outside the top 20 Test rankings among batters. It was after his poor run in England where he got 134 runs in 10 innings. He smashed four hundreds in as many Tests in December-January later that year and never looked back since.
However, his form has dipped considerably in the last few years. Since the start of 2020, he averages just 31.68 and has got just two hundreds along with nine fifties. In fact, it was only in 2023 where he had a good year in Test cricket. The former India captain amassed 671 runs at an average of 55.91. In the other years, his averages read 19.33, 28.21, 26.50 and 22.72 in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024 respectively.
Thus, this slump has resulted in Kohli slipping to No. 22 on the Test rankings. Apart from Kohli, Rohit Sharma has also lost points and dropped to the 26th spot. The current India captain had a disappointing home season. He scored a mere 133 runs while averaging 13.30 across five Tests.
Jaiswal, Pant in Top 10
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant are the top two Indian batters in the ICC Test rankings for batters. The former is placed fourth after he racked up 1119 runs at an average of 55.95 in 2024. Meanwhile, Pant made a successful return to Test cricket. The left-handed wicket-keeper batter did not play Tests for 20 months after his car accident in December 2022.
Pant was India’s top-scorer in the five Tests combined against Bangladesh and New Zealand. He amassed 422 runs while averaging 46.88 and he boasted of a strike-rate of 86.47. He is currently sixth on the batters rankings which is led by Joe Root and Kane Williamson.
Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin lost a few spots each. Bumrah was at the top after the Bangladesh Test series but he picked up just three scalps in two Tests which resulted in him being displaced. He slipped to No. 3 while Ashwin lost three spots and is currently fifth. Ravindra Jadeja is the other Indian bowler in the top 10 (i.e. at No. 6).
After a magnificent performance in Bangladesh, Kagiso Rabada (14 wickets in two Tests) has climbed to the top of the bowlers’ rankings. Josh Hazlewood occupies the second spot.
