India’s Test captain Virat Kohli has dropped out of the ICC’s top-10 batsmen list in the five-day format, but R Ashwin’s remarkable outing in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka helped him earn eighth place in the bowling rankings while holding the second spot in the all-rounders’ rankings.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan batting legend Kumar Sangakkara finished his glorious career at the seventh spot while another illustrious retiree, Australian captain Michael Clarke has finished his 115-Test career in the 25th spot.
Sangakkara, who scored 32 and 18 in Sri Lanka’s 278 runs defeat at the P Sara Oval, first reached No. 1 in the Test batting rankings in December 2007 against England after innings of 92 and 152 in Kandy.
Sangakkara spent a total of 97 Tests and 812 days as the No. 1 Test batsman in the world and was last number-one in December 2014, before losing the top spot to AB de Villiers.
Clarke surged to the top of the rankings in August 2009 and did so for the last time in February 2013. During this period, he topped the batting rankings on several occasions (totalling 11 Tests and 70 days).
In the batting rankings, Steven Smith has reclaimed the top spot ahead of de Villiers and Joe Root of England.
In the deciding third and final Test between Sri Lanka and India, which starts at Colombo on Friday, if India win the series 2-1, it will overtake New Zealand and move into fifth place. But a Sri Lanka win would see them overtake India into sixth place. In the event of a 1-1 tie, India would remain in the sixth spot, four points clear of the Lankans.
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