India skipper Virat Kohli retained top spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings for batsmen while Australia sensation Marnus Labuschagne and Pakistan captain Babar Azam moved up quiet a few places. The two batsmen have been in good form recently in their respective series and have been rewarded in the latest ranking list.
Kohli tops the chart with 928 rating points while his Aussie rival Steve Smith continues to hog the second spot with 911 rating points. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson comes a distant third (864) followed by Cheteshwar Pujara at number four (791). The latest entrant in the top five is Labuschagne who slammed a majestic century in the recently-concluded Day-Night Test against New Zealand. The 25-year-old has been in sensational form recently as in his last three Tests, he has scores of 185 (vs Pakistan in Brisbane), 162 (vs Pakistan in Adelaide) and 143 (vs New Zealand in Perth).
Cheteshwar Pujara (791) and Ajinkya Rahane (759) held on to their fourth and sixth spots respectively. Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne continued his surge, entering the top five in the list of batsmen after scores of 143 and 50 in the Perth Test. Babar Azam reached the top 10 for the first time, moving from 13th to ninth position after his unbeaten knock of 102 against Sri Lanka in the drawn first Test. He is currently No.1 in the T20I rankings and second in the ODIs. Opener Abid Ali's unbeaten 109, which made him the first male cricketer and only the second after former England woman opener Enid Bakewell to score centuries on both Test and ODI debuts, has entered the rankings at an impressive 78th position.
Among the bowlers, Bumrah, who has been out since the start of the home series against South Africa due to a stress fracture, slipped to the sixth spot in the list headed by Australia's Pat Cummins.
