India lost its No. 1 status to Sri Lanka after being defeated in the World Twenty20 final but star batsman Virat Kohli and spinner R. Ashwin attained career-high positions of second and third respectively in the latest ICC rankings issued here on Monday.
“India pair of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin has attained career-best rankings, at the end of the ICC World Twenty20 2014, in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for T20I batsmen and Reliance ICC Player Ranking for T20I bowlers respectively,” the ICC said in a statement.
“Sri Lanka reclaimed the No. 1 position on the Reliance ICC T20I Team Rankings Table, after it beat India in the final to win the tournament for the first-time ever. Sri Lanka gained three ratings points to finish on 133, three ahead of India, to move into the top position,” the ICC stated.
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“Before the semifinals began, India had gone past Sri Lanka to become the No. 1 ranked side. The final therefore was also a contest for either side to reclaim or retain the top spot.”
Kohli, named player of the tournament, ended as the highest run-getter of the tournament with 319 runs at an average of 106.33 and a strike-rate of 129.14.
He scored an unbeaten 72 in the semifinal against South Africa and followed it up with a knock of 77 in the final against Sri Lanka.
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These efforts helped Kohli gain 68 ratings points to move up to a best-ever 889 ratings points, just three behind No. 1 ranked Australian batsman Aaron Finch. The only other Indian batsman in the top 10 is Suresh Raina, now in 10th place (down by three).
Meanwhile, India off-spinner Ashwin now shares the third position on the bowlers’ table with Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal.
Ashwin finished with 11 wickets in the tournament at an average of 11.27 and an economy rate of 5.35 runs per over.
Ashwin ended as the fourth highest wicket-taker in the tournament. This helped him gain 25 ratings points to end at a best-ever 711.
The bowlers’ list is still headed by West Indies’ Samuel Badree with team-mate Sunil Narine in second place.