ICC ODI rankings | Kapil Dev heaps praise on Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah as they claim top spots

Virat Kohli has cemented his position on the no.1 spot of the ICC ODI batsman rankings with 909 points, which is 65 points ahead of second-placed Steven Smith, after scoring 558 runs in the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa. Jasprit Bumrah climbed two spots on the bowlers’ list to be ranked joint no.1 with Afghanistan's Rashid Khan with 787 points.

With these points, Kohli is now just 26 points shy of breaking West Indies legend Vivian Richards' record of collecting 935 points in the ICC rankings in a year. For the past one year, Kohli has been nothing short of unstoppable and has been often compared to Richards on various occasions. However, stating the skipper as the ‘greatest ever’, Kapil Dev was more fascinated by the way in which he has been playing rather than this records.

“Whether he breaks the record or not, with the freedom with which Kohli is batting in limited overs cricket, currently he is one-step ahead of Viv Richards,” said Kapil Dev exclusively to Wah Cricket.

In the last 15 months, Kohli has smashed 2018 runs at an average of 131.42 which include 9 centuries. But, the most astonishing part has been his brilliant form in the overseas condition where many doubt he would be able to stand up. He has 558 runs in the ODI series at an average of 181 runs, which made him the only player ever to score 500+ runs in a bilateral series.

“Even a year ago I was reserved in drawing comparisons between Richards and Kohli. But looking at the giant strides he has taken in a year, you can’t help but compare him with the West Indian great. I have seen a lot of batsmen over a period of 30-40 years but Kohli is the very best. I haven’t seen anyone bat so neatly ever,” added Kapil.

Jasprit Bumrah, on the other hand, has picked up 39 wickets in the last year at an average of 26.25 with an economy of just over 5 runs an over. In the ongoing South African tour, he has been the mainstay across all the three formats taking 22 wickets at an average of 25.09 with one five-fer too. He has been the most economical of the bowlers and is widely regarded as the death-over specialist. And Kapil Dev agreed that the 24-year-old has improved hugely over the years.

“I’m very happy for him; look at how much he has improved from where he had started playing for India. You can’t even think of India’s limited side without Bumrah. He is No. 1 for a reason,” added the 59-year-old.

In the last 5 IND vs SA ODIs, SA was bowled out twice, while IND was bowled out only once.

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