Kane Williamson regains top spot in ICC batsman’s rankings; Jadeja slips to second among all-rounders

More good news has come New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson’s way as the right-hander has regained top spot in the ICC batsman’s rankings in Tests. Williamson, who landed in England as the top-ranked batsman, lost the number one ranking to Steve Smith after twin failures at Lord’s, posting scores of 13 and 1. However, two impressive knocks in the World Test Championship final have seen the 30-year-old regain top spot. Williamson (891) now has a ten-point lead over Smith, who is scheduled to play no Test matches in the near future. 

Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has retained fourth spot despite failing to post a fifty in the WTC Final. Kohli (812) has a 15-point lead over Joe Root, but the Indian skipper is 66 points shy of third-ranked Marnus Labuschagne (878).

India’s wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, has slipped one spot to seventh. Pant was the joint-sixth ranked batter heading into the WTC final, but an underwhelming showing in Southampton has seen the youngster drop to seventh spot. Pant is currently seven points behind Rohit Sharma, who with 759 points to his name occupies sixth spot. 

There are no major movements on the bowling side, but among all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja, who last week moved to top spot, has slipped to second. Jadeja had a forgettable outing with both bat and ball in the WTC Final, and failure to score runs and take wickets has seen the southpaw slip to second spot. Jason Holder (384) is now the top-ranked all-rounder, with Ben Stokes and Jadeja (both 377) sharing second spot.