ICC ODI Rankings: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma dominate top slots

Dubai, March 17 (CRICKETNMORE): India skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma remained number one and two, despite India's home series defeat to Australia, in the latest ICC Men's ODI Player Rankings, according to an ICC statement.

Kohli and Rohit scored 310 and 202 runs, respectively, in the just-concluded series against the Aussies, which India lost 3-2 after taking a 2-0 lead.

Kedar Jadhav moved up 11 places to a career-best 24th after his good display with the bat against Australia. Jadhav helped India win the first ODI by scoring an unbeaten 81 in Hyderabad and followed it up with scores of 44 in both fourth and fifth ODIs in Mohali and Delhi.

Meanwhile, South African opener Quinton de Kock grabbed fourth position among batsmen after playing a huge part in his team's 5-0 victory over Sri Lanka in a home series that ended in Cape Town on Saturday.

The 26-year-old southpaw wicketkeeper-batsman's 353 runs in the series, which included one century and three half-centuries, helped him win the player of the series award and gain four slots in the latest rankings. His team captain Faf du Plessis also moved up to fifth position after scoring 272 runs.

The latest rankings, updated on Sunday, also include performances from series that saw New Zealand defeat Bangladesh 2-0 and the two drawn series between the West Indies and England, and Afghanistan and Ireland.

Four others, named the player of the series, also made huge gains. West Indies' opener Chris Gayle's effort of 424 runs, including two centuries, lifted him 35 places to 41st position, New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill's 264 runs took him from 19th to ninth, Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan moved up 16 places to 87th, while Usman Khawaja's 383 runs lifted him 83 places to a career-best 25th place.

Other batsmen to move up include, Jos Buttler (up five places to 13th) and captain Eoin Morgan (up three places to 17th) of England, Shimron Hetmyer of the West Indies (up 16 places to 23rd), India's Jadhav, Australia's Marc Stoinis (up 15 places to 29th) and South Africa's Aiden Markram (up 12 places to 89th).

In the list for bowlers, two formerly top-ranked players made significant gains. New Zealand's fast bowler Trent Boult moved up one place to second after finishing with six wickets against Bangladesh, while South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir gained seven slots to reach fourth place after taking nine wickets against Sri Lanka.

Other bowlers to advance include, Australia's Pat Cummins (up 13 places to seventh), New Zealand's Lachlan Ferguson (up 12 places to 22nd), England's Mark Wood (up eight places to 24th), South Africa's Lungi Ngidi (up 21 places to 26th), West Indies captain Jason Holder (up 10 places to 30th) and Andy McBrine of Ireland (up 10 places to 42nd).

Meanwhile, South Africa gained one point, while Sri Lanka lost two points in the Men's ODI team rankings. There have been no significant changes during the five series except for New Zealand narrowly edging past South Africa to third position and Australia going past Pakistan to fifth position.