Virat Kohli regains No 1 position in latest ICC ODI rankings

New Delhi: India's star batsman Virat Kohli has once again reclaimed the number one position in the latest ICC Player Rankings which was declared after the recently concluded Asia Cup. Virat has made a total of 189 runs in three innings with 136 against Bangladesh being the best. This performance in the tournament has earned him 12 rating points which has helped to move to numero uno position leaving behind South African ODI Captain AB de Villiers in second position by nine points. Kohli has total of 881 points who is followed by de Villiers with 872 points. This is the second time that Kohli has achieved this feat. Kohli had been in the top position till India toured NewZealand. Virat Kohli is the third Indian batsmen to achieve this feat as only two batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were able to reach the top of the ODI batsman list. The other players who have made notable improvements in their ranking are Shikhar Dhawan in eighth position breaking into the top ten list for the first time. Rohit Sharma has also jumped up one place to be at the 22nd position and Ravindra Jadeja in 50th position to be at number fifty. In the bowling department it was Ravindra Jadeja who has improved his tally and moved to the fifth position from earlier ninth of the ICC ODI bowlers ranking list and Ravi Chandran Ashwin managing to get14th position from an earlier ranking of 21st despite not having a not so good Asia Cup. Outside the top 20, player of the final, Lasith Malinga, has jumped 11 places to 22nd. Malinga, who picked five for 56 in the final, was also the highest wicket-taker in the five-team tournament with 11 wickets from four matches. Other big movers include Mohammad Shami in 26th (up by nine), Sachitra Senanayake in 34th (up by three places), Amit Mishra in 36th (up by five places), Ajantha Mendis in 41st (up by five places) and Suranga Lakmal in 47th (up by 15 places). Meanwhile, India has been guaranteed to retain its number-two position in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings at the 1 April cut-off date. India finished with 113 ratings points, just one ahead of third-ranked Sri Lanka, to walk away with a prize of US$75,000. There was no other change in the table with all sides retaining their positions. The latest rakings also include the three-match ODI between the West Indies and England, with Joe Root the biggest mover. Root, who won the player of the series award, has been rewarded with a jump of 29 places which has put him in 43rd position.