ICC Test rankings: Joe Root moves to No 1; Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli swap spots

Riding on the stunning century in the first innings of the third Test against India, England captain Joe Root reclaimed the top spot in the latest ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings. Meanwhile, Indian opener Rohit Sharma jumped one space to take Virat Kohli’s position as No 5. 

Root sat on the top of the table after nearly six years. The last time he was leading was in December 2015. The English skipper started the series as No 5 on the rankings. By accumulating 507 runs in three Tests, he overtook Virat Kohli, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. He leads the second-ranked batsman (Williamson) by 15 points. 

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Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has become India’s top-ranked Test batsman. The 34-year-old was ranked 54th in October 2019. His 19 and 59 runs in the third Test at Leeds took him to the top five for the first time in his career. He is leading Kohli by seven rating points with an aggregate of 773.

Australia’s David Warner (8th), South Africa’s wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton De Kock (9th) and New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls (10th) are the other who made progress on the ladder. 

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India’s Test mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara’s 91 in the second innings at Leeds helped him him progress three spots to jump up to the 15th spot in the rankings table.

Pat Cummins, Ravichandran Ashwin and Tim Southee still lead the bowlers’ rankings. English pacers including veteran James Anderson gained spots. The 39-year-old gained one spot and has moved to the top five. Player of the match at Leeds advanced nine places to move up to No.36, while Criag Overton re-entered the rankings at the 73rd spot.