India’s Rohit Sharma jumped eight spots to claim a career-best fifth position in the ICC batsman rankings after a stellar showing in the recently concluded series against top-ranked Australia.
Man of the Series Rohit, who registered 441 runs in the five matches, struck two centuries and a match-winning 99 in the consolation win for the visitors, who lost the series 1-4.
Rohit, who played in the 2006 U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, has now become India’s second highest-ranked batsman behind Virat Kohli (second), with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slipping seven places to 13th position in the latest rankings, which were released on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Mumbai batsman earned 59 points for his performances and he is now 64 points behind Kohli, who trails number-one ranked AB de Villiers of South Africa by 75 points.
Meanwhile, India, after winning the Sydney ODI, has retained their second position.
Australia’s dominant performance in the series is reflected in the fact that Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith have improved their rankings, while David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and John Hastings have achieved a career-high ranking.
Maxwell, who scored 169 runs in the series, has moved up two places to eighth, Smith’s 315 runs have helped him raise five places to 15th, and Warner has jumped five places to 18th after scoring 220 runs.
Outside the top 20, Ajinkya Rahane has moved up three places to 25th after contributing 141 runs, and Marsh has rocketed 21 places to 43rd after scoring 164 runs.
The series, in which a total of 3,159 runs were scored, proved to be a difficult one for the bowlers and this is reflected in the latest bowling chart in which most of the top-ranked bowlers have been unable to defend their pre-series rankings.
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has dropped two places to 11th, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has slipped seven places to 20th, James Faulkner has plummeted seven places to 28th, Axar Patel has fallen four places to 33rd and Umesh Yadav has plunged five places to 41st.
The only bowlers inside the top 50 to improve their rankings are India’s Ravindra Jadeja, who is in 22nd place (up by two places), and Hastings, who is sitting in 49th position (up by 62 places). Outside the top 50, Ishant Sharma has gained 15 places and is now in 71st spot.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc missed the series against India, resulting in him dropping from the number-one position. Starc had moved to the top after he bowled Australia to the 50-over World Cup victory last year in March.
Starc’s slip means New Zealand’s Trent Boult will start the three-match series against Pakistan as the number-one ranked bowler. He leads Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, in second place, by seven points.
