Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli wins New Year Wisden’s T20 squad and the decade’s star list are just some of the achievements that have kept the batsmen’s Test rankings at number one.
Kohli has topped the ICC Test Test batsmen’s rankings. Kohli’s performance was not good enough for Australia’s Stevie Smith, who could not make a comeback in the Test series against New Zealand. Smith had a chance to beat Kohli in the two Tests against New Zealand.
Smith struck out 151 in four innings at an average of 37.75. In the process, Smith finished second with 911 points. Kohli tops the list with 928 points. India tops the teams rankings. India stand at 120 points. New Zealand (112), South Africa (102), England (102) and Australia (102) are in the top two. Australia’s middle-order batsman Marnus LaBushage, who scored a century and two half-centuries in the Test series against New Zealand, was placed fourth.
Labushage, who finished fourth in his career, surpassed India’s Cheteshwar Pujara. Labushage has 805 points. Labushage is also the highest run scorer in the Test this year. He has scored 1104 runs in 11 Tests. He is also the second Australian player on the list. Steve Smith has scored 965 runs from eight Tests.
South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has advanced to the Boxing Day Test against England.
De Kock rose eight places to one place with 712 points. New Zealand’s Kane Williamson was third with 822 points. Cheteshwar Pujara is fifth with 791 points. Pakistan’s Babar Assam (767) is in sixth position. David Warner (759) and Ajinkya Rahane (759) shared the seventh spot. Joe Root was ninth with 754 points. Australia’s pacer Pat Cummins, who holds the record for the highest number of batsmen in the Indian Premier League, has topped the rankings. The Aussies scored 902 points.
New Zealand pacer Neil Wagner slipped to second place with 859 points in the Test series against Australia. South African Kagiso Rabada finished second with 830 points. West Indies’ Jason Holder is fourth with 830 points. South Africa’s all-rounder Vernon Philander, who announced his retirement from international cricket with a series against England, has climbed three places to fifth. Philander has 800 points. Jasprit Bumrah, who is out with an injury, retains sixth position with 794 points. Mitchell Starc was two places down and Josh Haiselwood one place behind. R. who is not. Ashwin and Mohammed Shami, who were ranked at the top of the list, rose two places to be ranked ninth and 10th position.