'If you end up finding yourself in the position where you happen to be in that World Test Championship final, then it is great, but it is a real weird one knowing that you are playing for something over a long period of time.'
India's Virat Kohli may have flopped in the two innings of the first Test against England but the star batsman has held on to his second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings released on Sunday.
The India right-hander has 862 points in his kitty, still 25 points behind AB de Villiers of South Africa, who is heading the list.
Indian opener Gautam Gambhir capped a memorable 2009 by ending the year as the No 1 Test batsman in the ICC rankings issued on Thursday.
Sachin Tendulkar remained the highest placed Indian batsman at his unchanged fifth position, while injured pacer Zaheer Khan held on to his sixth spot in the bowling chart of the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Sunday.
Joe Root was presented with a silver bat to commemorate his 10,000 runs in the longest format.
India's batting sensation Cheteshwar Pujara climbed two places to the fifth spot, while Virat Kohli slipped a position to No 11 in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Monday.
India have extended their lead at the top of ICC Test rankings courtesy to second-placed Pakistan's defeat in the third and final Test against West Indies on Thursday. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shane Dowrich struck unbeaten half-centuries to guide West Indies to a first Test victory in 14 matches as the Caribbean side beat Pakistan by five wickets in Sharjah.
The duo progressed following their fine showing in India's victory over Pakistan in the women's T20 World Cup opener.
Lokesh Rahul, who hit two half-centuries in the deciding Dharamsala Test against Australia, on Thursday, jumped 11 places to a career-high rank of 11th in the latest ICC chart for Test batsmen.
The recent ODI tour of the Windies have cost the players their top slots.
It isn't particularly surprising that India are right on top, say M J Manohar Rao and Srinivas Bhogle, as they deserve to be after winning the World Cup.
Steve Smith stayed top with 937 rating points, an incredible effort since he started the series in fourth position with 857 points before his surge that came courtesy 774 runs in four Tests.
Virat Kohli and Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara held on to their second and seventh position respectively
In the annual update, the results from 2011-12 were dropped from the calculations and outcomes from the 2013-14 series weighted at 50 per cent. Thus, India's heavy defeats against England and Australia in 2011-12 were no longer taken into account.
The Indian cricket team and its premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin held on to their numero uno status in the latest ICC Test rankings for teams and bowlers respectively.
In the T20 batting chart, India batsman KL Rahul lost a place to be at the third spot but skipper Virat Kohli retained his sixth position.
The Indian cricket team's disastrous World Twenty20 campaign pushed it to third place in the ICC T20 rankings while this year's champion West Indies jumped five places to grab the second spot.
Nathan McSweeney is on the brink of a major debut, set to partner Usman Khawaja as Australia's opening batters in the series against India.
ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson on Wednesday made it clear that international cricket can return to Pakistan only after the security situation improves in the country. Richardson was speaking at a press conference held after he presented the ICC Test Championship mace to Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq at the Gaddafi stadium here for bagging the number one position in the ICC rankings.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has surpassed India's Virat Kohli in becoming the world No.1 T20I batter for the longest period of time after he maintained his top spot in the latest ICC T20 batting rankings.
India have retained their fourth position in the ICC Test rankings despite a loss in the third cricket Test England at Southampton with the five-match series currently locked at 1-1.
Ravindra Jadeja attained a career-best third spot in the ODI bowlers and all-rounders' list a day after India lifted the ICC Champions Trophy that strengthen their position as the number one ranked team on the ODI Championship table in the latest rankings released on Monday.
India's rating rose from 100 to 102 as a result of the 2-1 series win in Pakistan.
Kohli edged Warner to take fifth position after completing his 50th international century in the first match of a three-Test series against Sri Lanka in Kolkata on Monday.
West Indies beat India by nine wickets in the second women's T20 International to level the three-match series 1-1 in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.
India continued to be at the top in the ICC Test rankings but Australia slipped one rung to fifth in the latest list after drawing the away series against Bangladesh on Thursday.
India are all set to drop a rung to sixth in the ICC Test rankings, replaced by arch-rivals Pakistan in the fifth position.
India took a seven-point lead over their closest rival in England in the ICC T20 rankings
The Test batting chart is headed by Australia's Marnus Labuschagne (915 points), followed by England captain Joe Root (900) while New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (879) dislodged Steve Smith (877) from the No. 3 slot.
Australia had entered the series in fifth position on 97 points, while England were in the third slot on 105 points.
There is no change in the top three of the all-rounders' table which is headed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh.
India's Suryakumar Yadav took over the No. 1 slot from Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, who was atop the scoring charts with 825 runs from 19 innings, and a superb average of 51.56.
Australia's mouthwatering clash with India sees the two behemoths of the modern game go head-to-head in five tests over six weeks with the tourists eyeing a third straight series triumph Down Under.
Pakistan has slipped from second to fourth position in the ICC Test Team Rankings after its 2-0 loss to New Zealand in their two-match series which culminated with a 138-run verdict in Hamilton on Tuesday. Pakistan, which went into the series with 109 points in the team rankings led by India (115), is now on 102 points and tied with South Africa but ahead on decimal points. England and Australia are both on 105 points with England ahead on decimal points.
Virat Kohli dropped a position to 11th leaving India with no batsmen in the top 10 of the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen, in the latest update of the ICC Player Rankings released by the International Cricket Council on Tuesday.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni continued to top the one-day batsmen chart with his deputy Yuvraj Singh occupying the second position in the the latest ICC ODI Player Rankings released on Wednesday.
Virat Kohli should not be judged on the basis of his current form, said Australia's batting great Ricky Ponting.
The Indian team can rise to as high as third in the ICC Test rankings if Virat Kohli's men whitewash Sri Lanka in the three-match series starting on Wednesday.
Kagiso Rabada regained his top spot among bowlers crossing the coveted 900-point mark in ratings even as Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin climbed up a couple of notches to be placed fourth in the ICC Test Player Rankings, released on Tuesday.
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