Shubman Gill in danger as Virat Kohli hunts No.1 spot in ICC rankings

India National Cricket Team batter Virat Kohli has been rewarded massively for his performance against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The match between the two teams took place on Tuesday (4th March) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.

Virat Kohli played a magnificent innings in the semi-final against Australia and helped India reach the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The right-hander yet again stood tall for his team in high-pressure situations and shined on the biggest stage, proving why he is rated as the best batter in the world.

Virat Kohli played a brilliant innings of 84 runs off 98 balls against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Virat Kohli played a brilliant innings of 84 runs off 98 balls. He batted with a strike rate of over 85 and also slammed five boundaries in his innings. This was his second fifty-plus score in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, having scored a hundred against Pakistan.

With his knock, Virat Kohli moved to the No.4 spot in the ODIs. Indian vice-captain Shubman Gill retained his top spot while skipper Rohit Sharma, who scored 28 runs in the semi-final, dropped two places from third to fifth in the ICC ODI rankings.

Apart from the Indian batters, Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai, who slammed 126 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, made a massive stride in the ICC ODI rankings for batters. The right-hander moved up 12 spots to 24th with 598 rating points to his name.

Ibrahim Zadran, who played an innings of 177 runs, also made substantial gains, moving up 13 spots into 10th with 676 rating points. Steve Smith, who retired from ODIs, after his knock against India in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, climbed six spots to 16th. While Kane Williamson moved eight spots to 29th.

Matt Henry becomes the No.3 ranked ODI bowler

In terms of the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers, New Zealand National Cricket Team pacer Matt Henry moved to the third spot with 649 rating points. He is now behind Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana (first) and South Africa tweaker Keshav Maharaj (second).

India National Cricket Team pacer Mohammed Shami, after his impressive performances in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, moved up three spots to 11th (609 rating points), while South Africa’s Marco Jansen (up nine spots to 18th) and England’s Jofra Archer (up 13 spots to equal-19th) also made gains.

Azmatullah Omarzai becomes the No.1 ranked all-rounder in the ICC ODI rankings

Afghanistan National Cricket Team player Azmatullah Omarzai also became the No.1 ranked all-rounder in the ICC rankings following his heroics in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. He picked a fifer against England and slammed fifty against Australia which took him to the top.

India National Cricket Team all-rounder Axar Patel, who has proved to be key for the team in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025, also made massive gains. He moved up 17 spots to 13th and registered a career-high 194 ratings points.

Also read: "Whole is always greater..."- Virat Kohli lynched after India vs Australia semi-final