Virat Kohli was back at the helm of the ODI Rankings after his stunning show in the recent white-ball fixtures where the star batter hit three fifties and two hundreds in a span of five innings for the side. After a couple of disappointments in Australia, Kohli made a roaring comeback to end the tour with a half-century.
The flamboyant batter then struck two centuries on the trot against South Africa and followed it up with a brisk half-century as Team India clinched the series. Kohli also returned to play Vijay Hazare Trophy after a span of 15 years for Delhi and hit a hundred and a fifty in the premier One-day domestic tournament.
Later, the former Indian skipper started off the ODI series against New Zealand with a brilliant 93 while scored 23 in the second ODI. He had claimed the top spot in the Men’s ODI Rankings after the first encounter where he missed out on a well-deserved ton.
While Kohli’s wait ended after 1401 days but his stay at the number one position might be a brief one.
𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗡𝗘 👑
Congratulations to Virat Kohli – the Number One Batter in ICC Men’s ODI Rankings 👏👏#TeamIndia | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/yTWjSQlNb7
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 14, 2026
Why Virat Kohli Might Lose Top Spot?
At present, Virat Kohli has 785 points while New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell who played a match-winning knock against India in the second fixture in Rajkot is placed at two with 784 points. Mitchell has always been a dominant batter against India and the right-hander once again continued his brilliance.
🗣️ If I look back at my whole journey, it’s nothing short of a dream come true. ✨
🎥 Virat Kohli reflects on his incredible career after becoming the 2⃣nd highest run-getter in men’s international cricket🙌👏#TeamIndia | #INDvNZ | @imVkohli | @idfcfirstbank pic.twitter.com/87BgcZlx4b
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2026
Mitchell has already struck 84 and 131* in the on-going bilateral tie. If Kohli fails to put up a big score in the third and final ODI and Mitchell follows his big scores with another one, then he might dethrone the Indian batter in the rankings. The ICC will release the new update on January 21 after the third match.
Some knock 👌
Daryl Mitchell’s 8th ODI century and his third in India takes him past 2,500 ODI runs. Mitchell is the fastest to achieve the milestone for New Zealand, in just 53 innings 🏏 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/9gVOJLrd3Z
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 14, 2026
Ex-India captain is at number three with 775 points.
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