Virat Kohli dethrones Rohit Sharma to become World No 1 ODI batter after four years

India’s batting great Virat Kohli has once again climbed to the top of the ICC ODI rankings, becoming the world No. 1 batter after a gap of nearly four years. The 37-year-old replaced teammate Rohit Sharma at the top following his impressive performance against New Zealand in the first ODI of the three-match series in Vadodara.

Kohli played a classy knock of 93 off 91 balls as India chased down the target to beat New Zealand by four wickets. The innings not only helped India take a 1-0 lead in the series but also pushed Kohli back to the No. 1 position in the ODI rankings for the first time since July 2021. Rohit, meanwhile, has slipped to third place.

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The knock against New Zealand also took Kohli to second place on the all-time list of highest run-scorers in men’s international cricket, with only Sachin Tendulkar ahead of him. He also became the third player to cross 28,000 international runs after Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.

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Kohli’s recent performances in ODIs have been nothing short of phenomenal. He scored an unbeaten 74 against Australia, 135, 102 and 65 not out against the visiting South Africa and 93 against New Zealand in his last five outings.

Kohli had gained the top ranking for the first time in October 2013 and it is his 11th different spell in the top spot. As of today, he has been at the top for a total of 825 days – 10th most by any player, and the most by an Indian batter.

Shubman Gill maintains fifth position

India’s ODI skipper Shubman Gill has maintained his fifth spot, while Shreyas Iyer is the other Indian batter in the top-10.

New Zealand all-rounder Daryl Mitchell has gained a spot following his blazing 84 off 71 in the first ODI, and is just one rating point behind Kohli, who is on 785.

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Mitchell’s teammate Devon Conway climbed three spots to secure the 29th position as he continues to score runs at the top.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj has risen five spots to sit in 15th position along with Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the ODI bowler rankings.

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, following a career-best performance of 4 for 41 runs, has jumped 27 places – moving up to joint 69th position, where he shares the spot with Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh.

(With agency inputs)