Kohli holds on to 2nd spot in ICC rankings
Dubai: Indian captain Virat Kohli held onto the second spot in the year-end rankings for Test batsmen just behind Australian Steve Smith, while Cheteshwar Pujara remained at the third spot.
According to the last rankings of 2017 released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) here on Sunday, Kohli has amassed a total of 893 points with Smith enjoying a comfortable lead at the top spot with 947 points. Pujara is trailing Kohli by 20 points.
Smith's contributions of 76 and 102 not out in the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne have not only strengthened his position at the top of the table but also given him sole possession of second place for the highest-ever ranking points.
For his efforts in Melbourne, Smith earned two points and is now 14 points behind Don Bradman (961) and two points ahead of Len Hutton (945) in the all-time list.
Meanwhile, a magnificent unbeaten double century by England opener Alastair Cook in the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne has helped him to finish the year inside the top 10.
The 33-year-old left-hander remained not out on 244 in his side's first innings score of 491, which has helped him to jump nine places to the eighth position.
He will now start 2018 with South Africa's seventh-ranked Hashim Amla firmly within his sights. Amla is 17 points ahead of the former England captain.
Cook had begun the year in 15th position, and had entered the Ashes at the 10th spot.
England captain Joe Root is the other batsman to improve his ranking, when he moved up one place to join New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson at the fourth place.
Root and Williamson had started 2017 at the third and fourth positions respectively.
Australia opener David Warner is at sixth, 24 points behind Root and Williamson, after his scores of 103 and 86 in the fourth Ashes Test earned him 30 points. Warner had started 2017 at the fifth position.
In the rankings for Test bowlers, there is no change in the top nine with England's James Anderson leading the field. Anderson had started the year on 810 points in sixth position and has finished on 892 points at the top spot.
The spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Rangana Herath had started 2017 in the top three positions, and have finished at the third, fourth and sixth places, respectively.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood started and finished the year at the fifth spot.
The only change in the top 10 is the return of South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel to the 10th position.
The 33-year-old claimed a haul of 5/21 in Zimbabwe's first innings for which he has been rewarded with a rise of three places, which has now put him one place ahead of compatriot Dale Steyn.
It is for the first time in nearly two years that Morkel is within the top 10.
Morkel's team mate Keshav Maharaj, who returned 5/59 in Zimbabwe's second innings, has gained two places and is now at a career high 16th position.
Outside the top 20, Chris Woakes of England and Australia's Pat Cummins have moved up three places each. Woakes is now in 28th place, while Cummins is now ranked 36th.
Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is the top ranked all-rounder and he is followed by India's Ravichandran Ashwin.
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Texas halts H-1B visas at state universities, agencies; to affect Indians
Houston (US) (PTI): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered state agencies and public universities to immediately halt new H-1B visa petitions, tightening hiring rules at taxpayer-funded institutions, a step likely to impact Indian professionals.
The freeze will remain in effect through May 2027.
The directive issued on Tuesday said that the state agencies and public universities must stop filing new petitions unless they receive written approval from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The governor's order, in a red state that is home to thousands of H-1B visa holders, comes as the Trump administration has initiated steps to reshape the visa programme.
“In light of recent reports of abuse in the federal H-1B visa programme, and amid the federal government’s ongoing review of that programme to ensure American jobs are going to American workers, I am directing all state agencies to immediately freeze new H-1B visa petitions as outlined in this letter,” Abbot said.
Institutions must also report on H-1B usage, including numbers, job roles, countries of origin, and visa expiry dates, the letter said.
US President Donald Trump on September 19 last year signed a proclamation ‘Restriction on entry of certain non-immigrant workers’ that restricted the entry into the US of those workers whose H-1B petitions are not accompanied or supplemented by a payment of USD 1,00,000.
The H1-B visa fee of USD 1,00,000 would be applicable only to new applicants, i.e. all new H-1B visa petitions submitted after September 21, including those for the FY2026 lottery.
Indians make up an estimated 71 per cent of all approved H-1B applications in recent years, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with China in the second spot. The major fields include technology, engineering, medicine, and research.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second-highest beneficiary with 5,505 approved H-1B visas in 2025, after Amazon (10,044 workers on H-1B visas), according to the USCIS. Other top beneficiaries include Microsoft (5,189), Meta (5,123), Apple (4,202), Google (4,181), Deloitte (2,353), Infosys (2,004), Wipro (1,523) and Tech Mahindra Americas (951).
Texas public universities employ hundreds of foreign faculty and researchers, many from India, across engineering, healthcare, and technology fields.
Date from Open Doors -- a comprehensive information resource on international students and scholars studying or teaching at higher education institutions in the US -- for 2022-2023 showed 2,70,000 students from India embarked on graduate and undergraduate degrees in US universities, accounting for 25 per cent of the international student population in the US and 1.5 per cent of the total student population.
Indian students infuse roughly USD 10 billion annually into universities and related businesses across the country through tuition and other expenses – while also creating around 93,000 jobs, according to the Open Doors data.
Analysts warn the freeze could slow recruitment of highly skilled professionals, affecting academic research and innovation.
Supporters say the directive protects local jobs, while critics caution it could weaken Texas’ competitiveness in higher education and research.
The order comes amid broader debate in the US over skilled immigration and state-level interventions in federal programmes.
H-1B visas allow US companies to hire technically-skilled professionals that are not easily available in America. Initially granted for three years, these can be extended for another three years.
In September 2025, Trump had also signed an executive order ‘The Gold Card’, aimed at setting up a new visa pathway for those committed to supporting the United States; with individuals who can pay USD 1 million to the US Treasury, or USD 2 million if a corporation is sponsoring them, to get access to expedited visa treatment and a path to a Green Card.
