Indian cricketers including the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel and others, have made massive improvements in the ICC Test rankings after India’s win in the 4-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series by 2-1. Batting maestro Virat is leading all the way as he has propelled seven places to be ranked No. 13 on the list.
Virat Kohli Made A Massive Improvement
Virat, who was once the World’s No. 1 ranked batter in all formats, had fallen out of the Top-10 in rankings last year after a string of poor performances during his lean patch. However, he has made a solid comeback in all the formats of the game. Recently, he scored a Test century, thus ending a long wait of 3 years.
Kohli ended the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 as the second-highest run-getter. He ended the series with 297 runs, next only to Australia’s Usman Khawaja. Kohli played a sensational knock in Ahmedabad during the 4th Test match as he amassed 186 runs to ensure India took the lead and batted Australia out of the contest.
As a result of his hard work and determination, he has jumped seven places in the rankings. Now only Rishabh Pant (ranked 5th) and Rohit Sharma (10th) are the two Indians ahead of him.
R Ashwin Is Now No.1 Test Bowler
Besides him, India’s star bowler Ravichandran Ashwin has cemented himself at the No.1 position in the ICC rankings after replacing James Anderson from the top. Ashwin and Anderson were the joint holders of the No.1 position, however, a 5-wicket haul in Ahmedabad catapulted Ashwin to 869 points, making him go ahead of Anderson by 10 points. He is now the sole owner of the no.1 ranking.
Axar Patel Also Rewarded For His Memorable Performance
Meanwhile, Axar Patel too was rewarded handsomely for his memorable performance in the recently-concluded series. The left-arm spinner might have failed to leave a mark with his bowling, having picked up just two wickets, however, he impressed one and all with his batting prowess. He scored 264 runs including 3 half-centuries that helped him jump by 8 places to be ranked 44 on the list of Indian Test batters.
