Pant overtakes Kohli on rankings as Pakistan usher in new top batter

DUBAI: Rishabh Pant's successful return to Test cricket has gained further traction as the India star made good ground on the latest ICC Men's Test Batter Rankings even as Salman Agha emerged as Pakistan's newest hope.

Pant managed scores of 20 and 99 against New Zealand in just his third Test match back from a serious car accident and those efforts saw the left-hander gain three places and overtake teammate Virat Kohli and move up to sixth place on the latest rankings for Test batters.

England star Joe Root maintains a healthy lead at the top of the Test batter rankings, with trio Yashasvi Jaiswal (fourth), Pant (sixth) and Kohli (equal eighth) the only players from India inside the top 10 of a tightly contested category.

Root's compatriot Ben Duckett is on the verge of breaking inside the top 10 after he moved up three places to equal 11th on the list for Test batters with a knock of 114 against Pakistan, while Salman gains eight places to move to 14th with a new career-high rating following scores of 31 and 63 from the same match.

It means Salman has made it past 50 in three of his last four Test innings and the 30-year-old is now the highest rated Test batter from Pakistan having overtaken teammates Babar Azam (equal 19th), Mohammad Rizwan (21st) and Saud Shakeel (27th) courtesy of his recent heroics, an ICC report said.

New Zealand duo Rachin Ravindra (up 36 places to 18th) and Devon Conway (up 12 spots to 36th) also make good ground on the latest list for Test batters, while teammate Matt Henry (up two rungs to ninth with a new career-high rating) is the big winner on the updated rankings for Test bowlers.

Henry picked up eight wickets during the Black Caps' drought-breaking eight-wicket victory over India in Bengaluru, while teammate Will O'Rourke (up two spots to 39th) is also rewarded for his seven scalps from the same match.

Pakistan spinner Noman Ali is re-instated at 17th on the rankings for Test bowlers following his 11 wickets across two innings against England, while teammate Sajid Khan gains 22 places to move to 50th after he was adjudged Player of the Match in the same contest.

There are also some changes on the latest rankings for both white-ball categories, with players from Sri Lanka the biggest winners for strong performances from their ongoing series against the West Indies.

Sri Lanka duo Pathum Nissanka (up four places to eighth) and Kusal Mendis (up six spots to 12th) gain ground on the latest rankings for T20I batters, while teammate Maheesh Theekshana improves two rungs to jump to third on the updated list for T20I bowlers.

Compatriot Wanindu Hasaranga is also a mover, with the right-armer gaining one place to move to sixth on both the T20I rankings for bowlers and all-rounders following a spell of 2/24 in the final match of the three-game series against the West Indies in Dambulla.

Hasaranga gains two places to move to 18th on the list for ODI bowlers following his two-wicket effort in the opening game of the ODI series with the West Indies, while teammate Charith Asalanka (up two spots to 12th) is the biggest winner on the rankings for ODI batters.