Virat Kohli back to top spot in ICC Test rankings

Virat Kohli is back on top of the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, taking a clear five-point lead over Australian run machine Steve Smith, after a historic century in India's maiden Day-Night Test match against Bangladesh in November.

Kohli, who had lost his top billing after Smith's stupendous show on return to Test cricket in the Ashes, benefitted from his rival's below-par show in the recent series against Pakistan.

Australia opener David Warner's epic 335 not out has lifted him 12 places to the fifth position while Marnus Labuschagne is in the top 10 for the first time after being ranked as low as 110th at the start of the year.

However, there are no Bangladeshi batsmen in top 20. The highest-ranked Tiger batsman was Mushfiqur Rahim, who was number 25 on the list. Tamim Iqbal was 26th. Mahmudullah occupied the 46th position and Test Captain Mominul Haque was 52nd. 

Fast bowler Mitchell Starc is another Australia player to gain in the latest update, which also takes into account performances in the drawn New Zealand-England Test in Hamilton and the one in Lucknow that saw the West Indies defeat Afghanistan by nine wickets. Starc has moved up four places to 14th after grabbing seven wickets in the Adelaide Test.

Pakistan middle-order batsman Babar Azam has moved up two places to 13th, thanks to his fighting knock of 97 in the first innings, while left-handed opener Shan Masood has gained 10 places to reach a career-best 47th position after striking 68 in the second innings. Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, one of the stars of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018, has moved up 13 places to 49th among bowlers.

England captain Joe Root is back in the top 10 after spending a week outside it, his innings of 226 pulling him up to seventh from 11th. Rory Burns's second Test century has pushed him into the top 40 for the first time.

For New Zealand, Ross Taylor has gained two places to reach 16th among batsmen and Tim Southee has moved up one place to 13th among bowlers.

West Indies captain Jason Holder's five wickets have helped him move up one slot to third place with a career-best 830 rating points and he has also consolidated his position at the top of the all-rounders' list.

Off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall has broken into the top 50 with a 10-wicket haul while centurion Shamarh Brooks has risen 68 places to 62nd.

Similar to the batsman's ranking, there were no Bangladeshi bowlers in the top 20. Spinner Taijul Islam was ranked the highest at number 24. Mehedy Miraz was at number 25. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman was at number 59.