The Indian batting line-up went through a major drop in the latest ICC rankings in Tests before the start of the fourth Test against Australia to be held from December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill have gone down.
Jaiswal, who went to No.2 in the Test rankings after the Perth Test, dropped one place to No.5. Pant, who is going through a rough patch of form, went two places down to No.11 in the rankings. Gill has slipped to No.20 after losing four places.
Kohli also dropped a place down to No.21. For skipper Rohit, it’s going from bad to worse after he lost five places and is currently placed at No.35 in the Test rankings. The Indian captain is under fire as he has lost four of his last five Tests, including a series whitewash against New Zealand.
Rahul, Jadeja jump in rankings
Rahul, whose place in the team was uncertain before the start of the series, jumped 10 places up to No.40 in the rankings. Rahul is India’s leading run-scorer of the series, having notched 235 runs from three games at an average of 47 and a strike-rate of 50 with two fifties and a top score of 84 to show for his efforts.
Jadeja also gained nine places, up to No.42 in the rankings. Jadeja did not play in the Perth and Adelaide Tests. But he scored 77 runs in the first innings of the Brisbane Test, helping India avoid the follow-on at The Gabba.
India won the Perth Test by 295 runs, but lost the Adelaide Test by 10 wickets. After the Gabba Test was drawn, the series is currently locked at 1-1. With all to play for, both India and Australia are looking to take a lead when the MCG Test starts on December 26.
