ICC Test rankings: Virat Kohli retains 5th spot, Rishabh Pant creates history

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday put out its latest Test rankings for batsmen, where New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson held on to the top spot with 919 points. Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Joe Root, and Virat Kohli also managed to retain their respective spots on the chart. Kohli held on to the fifth position in the ICC Test batting rankings. The rankings were updated after the recently concluded two-match Test series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. 

Pant creates history

Meanwhile, India's rising star Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicketkeeper-batsman to break into the top-10 of the ICC Test batting rankings, a feat even the legendary cricketer MS Dhoni couldn't achieve in his illustrious career. Pant achieved a career-high 747 points to reach the 6th position, which he now shares with Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who also reached his career-best ranking in the longest format of the game in the latest update. Rohit Sharma is the only opening batsman in the top-10 of the rankings. 

Rishabh Pant broke into the rankings on the back of two incredible Test series. Pant first helped the visiting Indian contingent win a historic Test series in Australia earlier this year and then fast-tracked India's win against England at home with his quickfire innings. After being dropped from the national team following a streak of poor performances, Pant made a mind-blowing come back to the international arena with improved skills and fitness. 

As far as the Test bowling rankings are concerned, Australian pacer Pat Cummins retained the top spot with 908 points, while Ravichandran Ashwin, Neil Wagner, James Anderson, and Josh Hazlewood remained put at number 2, 3, 4, and 5 positions respectively. Jason Holder remains on top of the Test all-rounder rankings, followed by Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Shakib Al Hasan. 

(Image Credit: PTI)