For the first time since 2021, India captain Rohit Sharma returned to the top five in the ICC Test Rankings. Sri Lanka’s batters, spearheaded by opener Pathum Nissanka and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, showed significant improvement after winning the just concluded three-Test series in England.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, was back among the top 5 men’s batting scorers for the first time since September 2021. According to the list that the International Cricket Council (ICC) issued on Wednesday, September 11, Rohit was the highest-ranked Indian hitter. Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal, two of his teammates, also moved up in the most recent rankings, to No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
Beginning on September 19, the trio of Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rohit Sharma will try to raise their ratings even higher when they play Bangladesh in a two-Test series.
Yashavi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma were in outstanding form during India’s triumph over England earlier this year, which also happened to be their final Test match. In a series that broke records, Jaiswal scored 712 runs with two hundred and three fifties. In Virat Kohli’s absence, the two batsmen at the top of the order scored the most runs, with Rohit finishing with two hundreds.
Sri Lankan batsmen, who excelled in the just-finished three-Test series in England, saw a sharp increase in the most recent ICC Test rankings. On Monday, September 9, at the third and final Test at the Oval in London, Ollie Pope-led England was stunned by Sri Lanka, ending a 10-year wait for a Test match victory in the Old Blighty.
Joe Root, meantime, remained at the top of the Test batting rankings; but, following two defeats in the third and final Test match against Sri Lanka, the former England captain lost significant rating points. His score dropped from 922 to 899, giving Kane Williamson (ranked second with 859) hope that he would be the next man to top the men’s Test batting rankings.
Babar Azam of Pakistan stayed outside the top 10, but Mohammad Rizwan, the wicketkeeper-batter, was still ranked highest in the nation at number nine.
Rankings for the ICC Men’s Test Batting (as of September 11, 2024)
1. Joe Root – 899 points
2. Kane Williamson – 859 points
3. Daryl Mitchell – 768 points
4. Steven Smith – 757 points
5. Rohit Sharma – 751 points
6. Yashasvi Jaiswal – 740 points
7. Virat Kohli – 737 points
8. Usman Khawaja – 728 points
9. Mohammad Rizwan – 720 points
10. Marnus Labuschagne – 720 points
During the successful series in England, middle-order batsman Kamindu Mendis, opener Pathum Nissanka, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva of Sri Lanka all showed notable progress.
With a brilliant innings of 69, de Silva was the top scorer for Sri Lanka in the first Test innings. This achievement enabled the right-hander to set a new career best rating and climb three spots to the 13th position among batters overall in the Test rankings, making him the team’s most valuable player.
On the list of Test batsmen, Mendis and Nissanka also achieve new career-high rankings. Mendis climbs six ranks to 19th overall after scoring a half-century of his own against England, while Nissanka soars 42 spots to 39th after scoring 64 and 127 not out.
