Virat Kohli moves closer to Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav into top 3 after IND vs SA 2025 ODIs

Virat Kohli on Wednesday, December 10, climbed to No. 2 in the latest ICC rankings for batters following his prolific run in the ODI series against South Africa at home. While Rohit Sharma retained the top spot with 781 rating points, his long-time teammate is not far behind on 773.

The former India captain won the Player of the Series for his 302 runs at a mind-boggling average of 151, including scores of 135, 102, and 65*. With 53 ODI hundreds under his belt, the 37-year-old's record is unlikely to be broken for years to come. Virat Kohli hasn't held the No.1 ranking for ODI batters since Babar Azam toppled him in April 2021. However, another run-scoring spree in the series against New Zealand can take Kohli to the summit.

Despite not scoring a hundred against South Africa, Rohit has kept his top spot. The 38-year-old had scores of 57, 14, and 75 against the Proteas but will be keen to convert them into bigger scores versus the Kiwis. KL Rahul also made a small jump, moving two places to the 12th spot.

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Kuldeep Yadav moves into top 3 in ODI bowler rankings

Kuldeep Yadav appeals. (Image Credits: BCCI X)

Among the bowlers, left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav moved to third after ending the South Africa series with nine scalps at 20.77. With 655 rating points, the Kanpur-born cricketer is behind Afghan star Rashid Khan (710) and England's Jofra Archer (670).

Kuldeep emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the series, with two scalps more than second-best Prasidh Krishna. The 30-year-old returned figures of 4 for 68, 1 for 78, and 4 for 41 in the three ODIs.

After the ODI and Test series between the two sides, they are currently playing a five-game T20I leg. India won the first T20I, consigning South Africa to a 101-run defeat in Cuttack on Tuesday.