‘King’ Kohli returns to first place, Virat becomes number 1 ODI batsman after 1736 days

By Samira Vishwas On Jan 14, 2026

Virat Kohli: The beginning of 2026 is no less than a celebration for Virat Kohli’s fans. The ‘King’ of world cricket has once again proved why he is the king of ODI cricket.

Virat Kohli: The beginning of 2026 is no less than a celebration for the fans of Virat Kohli. The ‘King’ of world cricket has once again proved why he is the king of ODI cricket. In the latest ICC ODI rankings released today, Virat Kohli has regained the crown of the world’s number 1 ODI batsman by defeating his teammate Rohit Sharma.

Reward for brilliant innings of Vadodara ODI

Virat Kohli has now reached the first position in the ICC ODI rankings after 1736 days. Earlier in July 2021, he was at the first position. The reason behind this leap of Kohli is his match-winning inning of 93 runs (91 balls) played in the first match of the ongoing series against New Zealand. Thanks to this innings, India successfully achieved the target of 301 runs. Although he missed his 54th ODI century by just 7 runs, his classic innings took him to the top of the rankings.

India’s linchpin regains top spot after hitting a purple patch in ODIs 🔝
More on the latest ICC Men’s rankings 👇https://t.co/IKDkNetwgG
— ICC (@ICC) January 14, 2026

Mitchell also followed

Virat Kohli has reached the first position with 785 rating points. But New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell is also after him. There is a difference of only 1 rating point between Kohli and Mitchell. Mitchell also played an inning of 84 runs in the last ODI, which has kept him on the top. Rohit Sharma, who was number 1 till the last update, has slipped to third place due to playing a cheap innings (26 runs) in the first ODI.

Also read: IND vs NZ: Team India’s litmus test on the ‘batting paradise’ of Rajkot, know the pitch report and shocking figures.

Grand record of 28,000 international runs

With becoming number 1, Kohli created another big history in Vadodara. He has become the first batsman in the world to score the fastest 28,000 runs in international cricket. He achieved this milestone in his 624th innings, whereas the great Sachin Tendulkar had taken 644 innings to reach here. Now he has become the second batsman in the world after Sachin Tendulkar to score the most runs in international cricket, leaving behind Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka.