Virat Kohli retains top spot in ICC rankings
Dubai, Sep 3 : The Indian skipper Virat Kohli retained his number one spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) Test batsmen rankings with a career-high 937 rating points, despite the defeat in the fourth Test against England.
Although India lost the fourth Test by 60 runs and conceded an unassailable 3-1 lead to England in the five match Test series, Kohli's 46 and 58 in the two innings helped him retain the top spot.
Kohli, who has scored 544 runs in his eight innings this series, is 11th on the list of best ever in terms of rating points, just one adrift of a group of four -- Gary Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Vivian Richards and Kumar Sangakkara, an ICC statement said on Monday.
Similarly, Cheteshwar Pujara stayed at the sixth position but his unbeaten 132, which helped India take the first innings lead, has lifted him from 763 to 798 points.
India fast bowler Mohammad Shami progressed back to the top 20 as his six-wicket match haul has lifted him three places to 19th position among bowlers, while his fellow fast bowler Ishant Sharma's four wickets saw him move up one place to the 25th position.
Jasprit Bumrah continued the strong start to his Test career, moving to a career-best 487 points while retaining the 37th position after his fifth Test.
Among others, England all-rounder Sam Curran made quick gains in the ICC Test Player Rankings while spinner Moeen Ali also moved up after the Southampton Test.
The 20-year-old Curran moved up 29 places to the 43rd position among batsmen after producing crucial knocks of 78 and 46 in his fourth Test match.
The left-hander, son of former Zimbabwe cricketer Kevin Curran and younger brother of England player Tom Curran, also gained 11 places to reach the 55th place in the bowlers' list and 15th position among all-rounders after gaining 27 slots.
Player of the match Ali's haul of nine wickets helped him move up three places to the 33rd position with a huge gain in rating points.
The off-spinner, who grabbed five for 63 and four for 71 in the two innings, gained 66 points to reach 543 points in bowling, while also gaining one slot to reach seventh place among all-rounders.
Buttler gained 15 slots to reach a career-best 32nd position on the batsmen's list and 584 rating points, just five behind England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has also gained three places to reach 29th position. Opener Keaton Jennings is another one to gain, moving up four places to 86th position on the list for batsmen.
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Siddaramaiah backs TN CM's call for renewed discourse on Centre-State relations
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin, expressing the state's strong support for a renewed national discourse on Centre–State relations.
Siddaramaiah said he will urge the union government to provide an institutional platform - such as a revitalised Inter-State Council - for all states to deliberate and restore balance in our federal structure.
Taking to social media platform 'X', the Karnataka CM said federalism is not a political demand - it is part of the basic structure of our Constitution.
"Over the years, increasing centralisation in fiscal and legislative matters has disturbed the delicate balance envisioned by our Constitution makers. States must have the authority and fiscal space to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to them. India’s strength lies in cooperative federalism, constitutional trust, and respect for diversity," he said.
He assured that Karnataka stands ready to engage constructively in strengthening India’s democratic and federal framework.
Siddaramaiah has written to the TN CM in response to Stalin's letter dated February 20, 2026, forwarding Part 1 of the report of the high-level committee on Union-State relations.
In his letter dated March 2, Siddaramaiah acknowledged and appreciated the initiative taken by the Tamil Nadu government in initiating the report, which seeks "constitutional correction".
Noting that the questions raised in the report go to the heart of India's constitutional morality, the chief minister said federalism was not an act of administrative convenience but a structural guarantee against concentration of power.
"Over the decades, however, a phenomenon of incremental centralisation has altered the federal balance through expansive interpretations of the Concurrent List, conditional fiscal transfers, centrally designed schemes with diminishing State flexibility, and procedural bottlenecks in governor's assent," Siddaramaiah said in the letter.
He claimed that what was intended as cooperative federalism has increasingly resembled "coercive federalism".
In the letter, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka shares many of the concerns articulated in the committee's report.
"We have consistently emphasised that fiscal federalism must align authority with responsibility. Articles 268 to 281, read with the role of the Finance Commission under Article 280 and the GST framework under Article 279A, cannot operate in a manner that dilutes the fiscal sovereignty of States. The doctrine of subsidiarity, that governance should occur at the most immediate level consistent with efficiency, is not alien to our constitutional design; it is implicit within it," he added.
He stressed that Karnataka, like Tamil Nadu, has been vocal in asserting the legitimate constitutional space of states, whether in matters of language policy, education, public health, fiscal devolution, or legislative autonomy.
"These are not sectional claims; they are constitutional claims. They arise from a principled commitment to pluralism, diversity, and democratic accountability," the letter stated.
At this juncture, Siddaramaiah said it is imperative that all states, irrespective of political affiliations, join hands in constructive federal dialogue. Federal renewal cannot be a solitary endeavour of one or two States; it must emerge as a collective articulation.
"The objective, as your letter rightly emphasises, is not to weaken the union but to right-size it, to ensure that national energy is concentrated on genuinely national priorities, while states are trusted with spheres constitutionally entrusted to them," he added.
In this regard, he further stated that it would be both appropriate and necessary for the union government to provide an institutional platform for all states to deliberate upon these questions.
"Whether through a revitalised Inter-State Council under Article 263, a special conclave of Chief Ministers, or a structured constitutional review dialogue, the union must facilitate a forum where states can place their recommendations formally, transparently, and deliberatively. The absence of such structured engagement has contributed to the perception that cooperative federalism has receded from lived practice," he added.
