Cricket / Latest rankings for Test batsmen out, Pant becomes top-ranked wicketkeeper-batsman

Cricket Desk: The completion of the 4-match Test series between India and Australia produced some new heroes in the form of Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, etc. while some old foes like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Marnus Labuschagne continued this impressive run in the longest format. 

The International Cricket Council announced its new player rankings on Wednesday where India skipper Virat Kohli dropped down to the No. 4 spot after missing three of the four matches of the series but it also marked the rise of Rishabh Pant who was placed 13th in the batsmen rankings.

What's impressive is that Pant is the highest-ranked wicket-keeper batsman in the tally of batters. In the rankings for batsmen, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson occupies the numero uno spot with 919 points to his name while Steve Smith sits second with 891 rating points.

Marnus Labuschagne also saw a big rise in his points tally for batters, climbing to the No. 3 spot with 878 points to his name followed by Virat Kohli who now has 862 points. England captain Joe Root completes the top 5 having gained 6 places. As far as Indian batters are concerned, Cheteshwar Pujara occupies the No. 7 spot.

ICC Rankings for bowlers:

Aussie speedster Pat Cummins continues to rock at the numero uno spot in the bowlers' rankings. He was named the man of the series in the 4-match assignment against India where he claimed 21 wickets.

England's Stuart Broad and New Zealand's Neil Wagner kept hold of the No. 2 and No. 3 spots while Josh Hazlewood jumped from No. 5 to No. 4. As for India, R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah gained one place each to be placed at 8th and 9th spot respectively.

Other than Kohli, the Indian team didn't feature many of the veteran players including Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and R Ashwin in all four matches. With the Indian team next set to take on England in a 4-match Test series at home, Kohli himself would be determined to kickstart the new season on a promising note and make amends in the Test rankings for batsmen.