BIZZARE: Rishabh Pant LEAVES BEHIND Rohit Sharma in ICC rankings despite not playing in 2023, HOW?

The International Cricket Council (ICC) released its latest rankings on February 7, 2024. As per the fresh rankings, former New Zealand skipper, Kane Williamson, has topped the Test chart with a total rating points of 864. The Kiwi batter has edged the other members of the Fab 4 club by a hefty margin. Virat Kohli is the only Indian in the Top 10.

Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have nosedived in the rankings. From being at the 6th spot, Virat Kohli has been demoted to 7th. As for Rohit Sharma, he too has seen a downgrade of one position. The Indian captain is now ranked 13th in Tests. While the veterans have slumped, the star wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant has made an upward movement in the rankings.

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ICC Test Ranking: How Rishabh Pant has a better ranking than Rohit Sharma?

Now, the question that arises is how a player's ranking be improved when he hasn't featured in any match for over a year. The answer to this is Rohit Sharma's form. When it comes to Tests, Sharma hasn't been in top form lately and as a consequence of a string of failures, the Indian captain's rating has been lowered to 702. Since Rishabh Pant has remained stagnant on 714 points, he has replaced his captain on the 12th spot.

As Kane Williamson has taken the summit position, Steve Smith has gone down to second (818), followed by Joe Root on three (797). Daryl Mitchell is at number 4 with 768 points, and Babar Azam is also residing in the same territory.

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When is Rishabh Pant scheduled to return?

After enduring an almost fatal accident in December 2022, Rishabh Pant has been nursing his wounds. The inactivity period has increased to over a year now, and in the meanwhile, he has missed out on several crucial gigs, WTC Final 2023 and ICC ODI World Cup 2023 being two of them. However, the wicket-keeper batsman has made a fast recovery and as per optimists, he is expected to take part in this year's IPL season.