Picture Credit: Twitter/BCCI
Latest ICC Test Rankings are out and Rishabh Pant has hogged the limelight with his drastic improvement. The Indian stalwart has jumped seven places to reach at the 7th spot in the table, his career-best. The remarkable progress by Indian stalwart came following his excellent performances in Tests against Australia and England. The young gun first helped a Kohli-less India win the Test series against Australia in a dramatic manner. Then continuing the good run, he also helped India book a berth in the final of World Test Championship (2019-21) with a 3-1 win over England in the recently-concluded four-match Test series.
ICC Test Batsmen Rankings
The update for jump in the ranks was officially provided by ICC through their Twitter handle. The revision of rankings stood out from earlier updates because of the fact that now three batsmen are fighting for the same position on table -
Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant are both at No.7 in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Test Player Rankings for batting ?
A big boost for Pant, who has achieved his career-best ranking! pic.twitter.com/96Jlu1p9Xp
— ICC (@ICC) March 10, 2021
While Pant's extraordinary leap has hogged the limelight, the improvement in Rohit Sharma's ranking saw both of them share same happiness. The Indian opener was earlier at the 8th spot but now he has improved by a rank to move to 7th spot. However, both his and Pant's ratings tally also equalized that of Henry Nicholls, making all of them share the position. Surprisingly enough, the top-6 remain unfazed by the changes in bottom half. Moreover, as three batsmen shared the spot, the next best player - David Warner was rewarded with 10th rank.
Notably, with Rishabh Pant also entering the list, India have now matched Australia's number. Both the teams now have three batsmen in top-10 ranks. While India's three stars are - Virat Kohli, Rohit, and Pant, Australia are represented by Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and David Warner. Meanwhile, World Test Championship finalists New Zealand have two players in the list - skipper Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls.
While it will be interesting to see if Rishabh Pant stands the test of time in a list of elite batsmen, the Blackcaps have now got another reason to not underestimate India. Both the sides will lock horn for the inaugural edition of the Test trophy from June 18-22 at Ageas Bowl Stadium in Southampton, England.
