Rishabh Pant overtakes Virat Kohli in ICC Test batters' rankings; Rohit Sharma drops two places

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has surged ahead of Virat Kohli, climbing three places to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings released on Wednesday. Pant made a remarkable comeback to Test cricket after nearly two years and came close to scoring a century in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.

In a recent match against New Zealand in Bengaluru, the 27-year-old Pant displayed his resilience by scoring a gritty 99 in the second innings. Meanwhile, Kohli, who scored 70 runs in the same innings, slipped down to eighth place in the rankings.

Yashasvi Jaiswal continues to be India's highest-ranked batter at fourth place, while captain Rohit Sharma dropped two spots to joint 15th alongside Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne. England's Joe Root maintains his lead at the top of the rankings.

New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway made significant progress in the latest rankings, with Ravindra moving up 36 places to 18th and Conway climbing 12 spots to 36th. Matt Henry also saw a rise in the rankings, moving up two places to ninth with a new career-high rating in the bowlers' category.

Henry's outstanding performance, where he took eight wickets in New Zealand's victory over India in Bengaluru, earned him the accolade. His teammate Will O'Rourke also moved up two spots to 39th after taking seven wickets in the same match.

Pakistan spinner Noman Ali reclaimed the 17th spot in the rankings after his impressive performance against England, where he took 11 wickets across two innings. Sajid Khan, another Pakistani player, gained 22 places to reach 50th after being named Player of the Match in the same contest.

India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the bowlers' rankings, with R Ashwin following closely behind. Ravindra Jadeja, retaining the seventh spot, is another Indian player in the top-10.

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