On Monday, the new ICC ODI rankings surprised fans as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were missing from the top 10. The update came amid rumours about both players possibly retiring from ODIs, which added more fuel to the rumours online.
Last week, Rohit was placed at No. 2 with 756 points and Kohli was at No. 4 with 736 points. In the new list, both were absent. Instead, Shubman Gill stayed at the top of the ODI batting rankings with 784 points. Shreyas Iyer is on sixth position with 704 points, while KL Rahul sits at 13th with 638 points. Pakistan’s Babar Azam has climbed back to second place, just behind Gill.
Why players disappear from ICC rankings?
The absence of Rohit and Kohli is not random. The ICC has simple rules for rankings. If a player doesn’t play for 9 to 12 months in ODIs, they are removed. Retired players are also taken off the list permanently. That’s why Rohit and Kohli is not in the Test and T20I rankings, as they have retired from those formats earlier this year.
Rohit has scored 11,168 runs with an average of 48.76 and a strike rate of 92.80 in ODIs. On the other hand Kohli scored 14,182 runs at an average of 57.88 at the strike rate of 93.34. Both the batters haven’t played since the IPL and last featured for India in the Champions Trophy final in March. However, it was later confirmed that it was a technical glitch, and their names are now visible again in the ICC rankings, where Rohit is at second with 756 points and Kohli is on fourth with 736 points. Retirement rumours grew stronger as their absence from the ODI Rankings has sparked more speculations among fans.
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