ICC Test Rankings: Kohli retains top spot, Babar rises
What's the story
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli continued his lead in the latest ICC Test Rankings for Batsmen, which was released on Tuesday. There was no change in the top five list but Pakistan's Babar Azam moved three places to achieve his career-best position of sixth. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane slipped to seventh post Babar's rise. Here are further details.
The top five
Smith will target top spot, Labuschagne can surpass Pujara
Kohli maintains the top spot with 928 rating points and is above Steve Smith (911). New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is third with 864 points. Cheteshwar Pujara (791) and Marnus Labuschagne (786) form the top five. One could see Smith surpass Kohli if he gets the runs in the second Test against New Zealand. Meanwhile, 2019's leading run-scorer Labuschagne, can also surpass Pujara.
Babar Azam
Classy Babar Azam gets to career-best sixth position
Babar has been piling on the runs and that has helped his cause to achieve the sixth position as of now. He was unstoppable in the recently-concluded Test series against Sri Lanka at home. The stylish Babar scored 102*, 60 and 100* to define his prowess with the bat. Prior to that against Australia, he had amassed 104 and 97 in the two-match Tests.
Bowlers
Cummins leads the show for bowlers, Abbas rises to 15th
In the ICC Test Rankings for Bowlers, Pat Cummins leads the show with 898 rating points. There were no significant movements among the top 14 bowlers in the list. Pakistan's Mohammad Abbas rose to 15th in the rankings and has 741 rating points. With two Boxing Day Tests on offer, one can expect some movement in the rankings post the respective matches.
Information
Here's more on the Test Rankings for Batsmen
David Warner and Joe Root dropped one position each to be eighth and ninth at the moment. New Zealand's Ross Taylor entered the top 10 to go past Dimuth Karunaratne, who slipped to 11th. Pakistan's Asad Shafiq rose to 20th in the standings.