Indian stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were removed from the ICC ODI batting rankings released on Wednesday, only to be reinstated later in the day.
According to reports, both players who played a key role in India’s Champions Trophy 2025 title win in March had disappeared from the updated rankings, sparking confusion among fans.
The Indian batting greats have retired from Tests and T20Is but remain active in ODIs, having last featured in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
A week ago, Rohit was ranked No. 2 and Kohli No. 4 in the world. Rohit had even dethroned Pakistan’s Babar Azam after the latter’s poor show in the Caribbean.
However, as of the rankings update on August 19, neither featured in the top 100, while Shubman Gill continued to lead the chart.
Their sudden disappearance triggered speculation that the duo had been removed because they had not featured in the ongoing ranking cycle.
Some reports even suggested a technical glitch, as both had been part of the list the previous week.
Both players last appeared in ODIs during the ICC Champions Trophy in the UAE earlier this year.
Rohit struck a match-winning knock in the final that helped India secure their first ICC ODI trophy in a decade, while Kohli played a pivotal role in the group stages with his steady knocks in spin-friendly conditions at the Dubai International Stadium.
As of August 20, Babar Azam had regained the second spot, with Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka moving up to fourth and New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell sitting at third.
The abrupt absence of Rohit and Kohli set social media abuzz, with #RohitSharma and #ViratKohli trending on X.
According to ICC rules, a player is excluded from the rankings if retired from the format or if inactive for a specific period.
In Tests, the threshold is 12 to 15 months, while in ODIs and T20Is it is nine to 12 months. In Rohit and Kohli’s case, they last played only five months ago, in March 2025, well within the required window.
On Wednesday, however, the ICC updated the rankings again, restoring Rohit and Kohli to their previous positions of No. 2 and No. 4 respectively.
Although the ICC has issued no clarification for the mix-up, it appears to have been a technical glitch on their side.
For now, the episode has ended with both batting greats reclaiming their rightful places on the charts, but the lack of communication from the ICC has left fans puzzled.
