When Was The Last Time Virat Kohli Was Ranked No. 1 In ICC ODI Batting Rankings?

Virat Kohli inches close to No. 1 ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings (Source: AP)India batting icon Virat Kohli has closed the gap on captain Shubman Gill at the top of the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings, despite both players scoring centuries in the first ODI against the West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.Kohli’s unbeaten 139 from 88 deliveries took him past 15,000 ODI runs as India chased down a target of 296 with 50 deliveries to spare. His record-extending 55th ODI ton helped him overtake Daryl Mitchell for second position and move within 20 rating points of top-ranked Gill.Kohli was 34 points behind Gill’s 801 rating points before the match. Though Gill’s knock of 110 lifted his own points tally to 816, Kohli moved from 767 to 796, bridging the gap by 14 rating points. Kohli’s rating points are now his highest since July 2022.As Virat Kohli fast approaches the summit, let’s take a stroll down the memory lane and check when the last time the batter was at the top of the ICC ODI Batting Rankings.Throwback to when Virat Kohli was No. 1 ranked ODI batterIn January 2026, Virat Kohli returned with a splendid run of form since the Australia vs India ODI series Down Under in October 2025.On January 14, 2026, Kohli reclaimed his No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s Rankings after his 93-run knock in the India vs New Zealand three-match ODI series opener in Vadodara.Virat Kohli rose to the summit with 785 rating points to his name, just one ahead of the second-place New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell, who had 784.Also read: Virat Kohli Builds His 'Ultimate ODI Batter'; No Place For MS Dhoni, Rohit SharmaThis marked the first time that the legendary cricketer had occupied the No.1 spot in ODI rankings since July 2021.Moreover, he first rose to the top of the rankings in October 2013. Thus, the January instance marked his 11th separate stint at the number one position. Till then, he had spent a total of 825 days at the summit - the highest by any player overall, and the most by an Indian.When was the last time top 2 ICC ODI ranked batters were Indians?Before today, September 30, 2026, the last time the top 2 ODI-ranked batters were both Indians was in December 2025, when Rohit Sharma held the No. 1 spot with 781 rating points and Virat Kohli had climbed to the No. 2 spot with 773 points in the ICC Men's ODI Player Rankings.While former captain Rohit Sharma maintained his No. 1 position in the ICC ODI batter’s ranking on December 10, 2025, Kohli jumped two places to take the second.The 37-year-old batter, Kohli, was in red-hot form with the bat in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, later that year, leading up to the jump in rank.With the help of two centuries (135 and 102) and one unbeaten half-century (65), he amassed a total of 302 runs to also win the Player Of The Series award.Also read: John Campbell Slams Fastest ODI Century By A West Indian Vs India, Creates World Record