Dubai: Rohit Sharma jumped eight places to a career-best fifth position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ODI batsmen rankings, released on Sunday, after scoring an impressive 441 runs in the just-concluded five-match series against Australia.
The Mumbai right-hander had scores of 171 not out, 124, 6, 41 and 99, respectively, in the series which the world champion and number-one ranked side won 4-1.
Rohit, who played in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2006 in Sri Lanka, has now become India's second highest-ranked batsman behind Virat Kohli (second), with captain Dhoni slipping seven places to 13th position in the latest rankings.
Rohit, who was declared Player of the Series, earned 59 points for his performances and he is now 64 points behind Kohli, who trails number-one ranked AB de Villiers of South Africa by 75 points.
Shikhar Dhawan, the left-handed opening partner of Rohit, maintained his seventh spot after having a good outing in the series where he scored 287 runs in the series.
Australia's dominant performance in the series is reflected in the fact that Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith have improved their rankings, while David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and fast bowler John Hastings have achieved a career-high rankings.
Maxwell, who scored 169 runs in the series, has moved up two places to eighth, Smith's 315 runs have helped him rise five places to 15th, and Warner has jumped five places to 18th after scoring 220 runs.
Outside the top 20, Ajinkya Rahane has moved up three place to 25th after contributing 141 runs, and Marsh has rocketed 21 places to 43rd after scoring 164 runs.
The series, in which a total of 3,159 runs were scored, proved to be a difficult one for the bowlers and this is reflected in the latest ODI bowlers' rankings in which most of the top-ranked bowlers have been unable to defend their pre-series rankings.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has dropped two places to 11th, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has slipped seven places to 20th, James Faulkner has plummeted seven places to 28th, Axar Patel has fallen four places to 33rd and Umesh Yadav has plunged five places to 41st.
The only bowlers inside the top 50 to improve their rankings are India's Ravindra Jadeja, who is in 22nd place (up by two places), and Hastings, who is sitting in 49th position (up by 62 places). Outside the top 50, Ishant Sharma has gained 15 places and is now in 71st spot.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc missed the series against India, resulting in him dropping from the number-one position. Starc had moved to the top after he bowled Australia to the ICC Cricket World Cup victory last year in March. Starc's slip means New Zealand's Trent Boult will start the three-match series against Pakistan as the number-one ranked bowler. He leads Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, in second place, by seven points.
