Daryl Mitchell snatches World No.1 batter spot from Virat Kohli; Rohit Sharma slips below Afghanistani
Published - 21 Jan 2026, 01:43 PM | Updated - 21 Jan 2026, 11:34 PM
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Star New Zealand National Cricket Team batsman Daryl Mitchell has created history by becoming the No. 1-ranked player in the ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings.
Daryl Mitchell has dethroned the India National Cricket Team batting legend Virat Kohli to jump to the No.1 position in the latest ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings, which was released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, January 1.
Virat Kohli dethroned by Daryl Mitchell in ICC Rankings
Daryl Mitchell was hovering around in the Top 5 in the ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings for quite some time and even became the No.1 batter for three days last November before Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli climbed to the No.1 spot.
Now, with his sensational performances in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against the Indian team, the Kiwi batter managed to finally become the World No.1 batter by a big margin.
He has 845 ranking points, which has helped him replace Virat Kohli, who has 795 ranking points. Following them on the list are Ibrahim Zadran, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill.
Mitchell was on fire in the India series, and he helped the BlackCaps register their first-ever ODI series win on Indian soil. He troubled the Indian team from the very first game and finished the series as the leading run-getter.
In just three innings, with one fifty and two centuries, Daryl Mitchell blasted 352 runs at an unbelievable average of 176.00 to bag the Player of the series award.
Notably, his 352 runs in the series became a record for the most runs scored by a Kiwi in a three-match ODI series and overall the third-most of all time, behind only Babar Azam (360 against the West Indies in 2016) and Shubman Gill (360 against New Zealand in 2023). Also, he has four ODI tons in India, which is the second most behind just AB de Villiers' five.
Top 10 Ranked Batters in ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings
| Pos | Team | Player | Rating |
| 1 | New Zealand | Daryl Mitchell | 845 |
| 2 | India | Virat Kohli | 795 |
| 3 | Afghanistan | Ibrahim Zadran | 764 |
| 4 | India | Rohit Sharma | 757 |
| 5 | India | Shubman Gill | 723 |
| 6 | Pakistan | Babar Azam | 722 |
| 7 | Ireland | Harry Tector | 708 |
| 8 | West Indies | Shai Hope | 701 |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | Charith Asalanka | 690 |
| 10 | India | KL Rahul | 670 |
KL Rahul enters the top 10
Talking about other changes, KL Rahul has climbed to No. 10 in the batting rankings, Glenn Phillips rose to equal-31st in all-rounders rankings, and Michael Bracewell moved to 33rd in the bowling rankings, which is led by Rashid Khan.
In the T20I Rankings, the veteran leg-spinner Rashid Khan jumped two spots to occupy the second position in the bowling rankings, which is led by India's Varun Chakravarthy.
Rashid Khan's teammate Mujeeb Ur Rahman also moved two spots to equal 14th, while Ibrahim Zadran moved up five places to 15th in the ranking for the T20I batters.
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Daryl Mitchell Virat Kohli New Zealand National Cricket Team India National Cricket Team India vs New Zealand Ibrahim Zadran Rohit Sharma KL Rahul Shreyas Iyer ICC RankingsAbout the Author
Sonanchal Gautam is the Head of Content and Editor with over 4 years of experience in the industry....
