ICC T20I rankings for batsmen: Virat Kohli becomes World No. 1

Virat Kohli moved up the rankings in spite of not playing a T20 match

India’s Virat Kohli has become the world’s No. 1 T20 batsman according to the latest ICC Twenty20 international player rankings. Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, India’s skipper in the format are the only Indians in the top 50, with Raina sitting just outside of the top 10 at 11th place while Dhoni is ranked 33rd.

Aaron Finch’s injury came as a blessing in disguise for Kohli who moved up the rankings in spite of not playing a T20 international in the recent past. The Australian T20 skipper was the top-ranked batsmen as per the rankings last week, but with injury keeping him out of his side’s clash against England, Finch dropped 17 rating points, which propelled Kohli to the No. 1 spot, ahead by 7 points.

The England-Australia clash at Cardiff which the hosts won by 5 runs was the only T20 international in the week and that has been reflected in the rankings with Eoin Morgan and Steven Smith, the two captains, along with Moeen Ali being the significant movers.

Morgan was the match-winner for England smashing a 39-ball 74 which included seven sixes and three fours, which has seen him rise six places to eighth. He shared a third-wicket partnership of 135 in 75 deliveries with Moeen Ali, whose 46-ball 72 has rocketed him to the 77th spot, up by 79 places.

Smith’s knock of 90 in 53 balls that took Australia close to the target set by England has seen him climb 62 places up to the 96th spot. One person who missed out big time was England opener Alex Hales who remains at the third spot after being dismissed cheaply.

Here are the Top 10 batsmen as per the ICC rankings

No	Player	Country	Rating
1	Virat Kohli	India	861
2	Aaron Finch	Australia	854
3	Alex Hales	England	841
4	Francois du Plessis	South Africa	794
5	Chris Gayle	West Indies	732
6	Brendon McCullum	New Zealand	712
7	Kusal Perera	Sri Lanka	680
8	Eoin Morgan	England	675
9	Martin Guptill	New Zealand	653
10	David Warner	Australia	652