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.

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.

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.