Virat Kohli & KL Rahul jump up a place each in latest ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen

Indian skipper Virat Kohli and the makeshift limited-overs vice-captain KL Rahul have jumped up a place each in the recently released ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen after their stellar performances in the recently-concluded three-match T20I series against Australia. 

Kohli & Rahul move to 8th & 3rd spots respectively

While Virat moved up to the eighth spot with 697 points, Rahul has grabbed the third spot with 816 points in his tally. Kohli amassed 134 runs in the three-match series with scores of 9, 40 and 85 respectively whereas, his deputy finished the series with 30 runs to his name (51 & 30). He had a forgettable outing in the final game as he was dismissed for a silver duck by his Punjab team-mate Glenn Maxwell in the very first over of the Indian run chase.

The ICC T20I Rankings for batsmen

While Rahul has grabbed the third spot, the fourth and fifth spots have been occupied by Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch (808) and South Africa's hard-hitting middle-order batsman Rassie Van Der Dussen (744) respectively. 
Pakistani captain Babar Azam takes the second spot (871) and with 915 points, England's T20I specialist Dawid Malan had retained the top spot. 

Meanwhile, New Zealand's swashbuckling opener Colin Munro (739), Aussie power-hitter Glenn Maxwell (701), Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai (676) and, English limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan (662) complete the rankings by occupying the sixth, seventh, ninth, and 10th spots respectively.
 

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With the white-ball leg of this grueling tour done and dusted, the focus now shifts towards the longest format as both India and Australia will be locking horns in a four-match Test series. The first one will be played under lights at the Adelaide Oval with the pink-ball. Regular skipper Virat Kohli will be making a solitary Test appearance. He will be returning back to India after the first Test to be with his better half Anushka Sharma as the couple is expecting their first child in January. The batting megastar has been granted paternity leave by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). 

At the same time, it remains to be seen who will be leading India in Kohli's absence in the remainder of the series. The second Test and the final one of this year will be played on December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground whereas, the last two Test matches will be contested at the Sydney Cricket Ground (7th January) and the 'Gabba' Brisbane (15th January) respectively. 

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