ICC Test Rankings: Kohli down to fifth as Root moves up to third after Chennai double century
Dubai: India skipper Virat Kohli was on Wednesday pushed to the fifth spot by his English counterpart Joe Root, who rose two rungs to third in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen, even as Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin moved up in the bowlers' chart.
Kohli, who had had scores of 11 and 72 in the opening Test against England, has 852 points and down one spot in the latest chart issued on Wednesday.
Veteran spinner Ashwin and pacer Bumrah have jumped a rung each to be seventh and eighth respectively.
Root, who helped his team to a memorable 227-run victory in Chennai that kept England in contention for the ICC World Test Championship final, has reached 883 rating points.
It is his highest position since September2017 after a fabulous run in the sub-continent saw him accumulate 684 runs in three Tests, two of which were in Sri Lanka.
Ahead of Kohli for the first time since November 2017, Root is now 36 points behind top-ranked Kane Williamson and trails Steve Smith by only eight points. With Marnus Labuschagne also in the mix, competition for the top five slots is intense with all of them above 850 rating points.
For India, Rishabh Pant's knock of 91 in the first innings has helped him become the first full-time wicketkeeper from his country to reach 700 rating points as he retained the 13th position among batsmen.
Opener Shubman Gill progressed seven places to 40th position while all-rounder Washington Sundar is 81st after moving up two slots. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem too has gained two places to reach 85th position among bowlers.
Opener Dom Sibley is another England batsman to gain in the latest rankings update, his knocks of 87 and 16 helping him rise 11 places to 35th, while their players also made the way up in the bowling rankings presently led by Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins.
Formerly top-ranked James Anderson is up to third from sixth and only four points behind compatriot Stuart Broad, a fellow-member of the 500-wicket club.
Anderson is at his highest ranking since the start of the ICC World Test Championship while spinners Jack Leach and Dominic Bess are both at career-best rating points, moving up to 37th and 41st positions, respectively.
West Indies batsman Kyle Mayers, whose scores of 40 and 210 not out helped script an epic win in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong, has entered the rankings in 70th position with 448 rating points.
It is the best by a West Indian batsman on debut and the second-best ever on debut after RE Foster, who was on 449 rating points back in 1903 after scoring 287 on debut for England against Australia in Sydney.
Others to gain for the West Indies include captain Kraigg Brathwaite (up eight places to 53rd) among batsmen and the spin pair of Jomel Warrican (up 14 places to 62nd) and Rahkeem Cornwall (up six places to 65th).
For Bangladesh, captain Mominul Haque's 10th Test century has lifted him eight places to 33rd. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has gained four slots to reach 30th position among batsmen while off-spinner Mehidy Hasan has progressed from 28th to 24th position.
Pakistan completing a 2-0 sweep over South Africa is followed with good news from the rankings perspective as well, especially with regard to fast bowling.
Player of the series Mohammad Rizwan has attained a career-best 16th place after scores of 26 and 115 helped him make a leap of 19 places in the list.
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Blanket ban on online real money gaming will kill jobs, revenue, innovation: Minister Priyank Kharge
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka IT and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday criticised the Centre's decision to impose a blanket ban on online real money gaming (RMG), calling it "another masterstroke by Modi Sarkar in bad policy making."
Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said the decision would hit state revenues, jobs and investments.
"India earns Rs 20,000 crore annually from GST and income tax via online RMG. The ban means states lose this revenue stream," he said in a post on 'X'.
The minister noted that over 2,000 gaming startups and more than two lakh jobs in IT, AI and design would be at risk.
"A ban kills India's gaming talent pool and pushes entrepreneurs abroad," Kharge said, adding that Rs 23,000 crore of foreign direct investment in the last five years could dry up and about Rs 7,000 crore spent annually on ads, data centres, sponsorships and cyber security would vanish overnight.
Warning of unintended consequences, the minister said, "Bans don't stop addiction or suicides. Instead, they push users to unregulated offshore platforms worth Rs 8.2 lakh crore annually where government has no control at all.
"Security risks: Unregulated sites ensure money laundering, terror financing, data theft. Even FATF and Rashtriya Raksha University warn against such risks."
Noting that the Supreme Court is still deciding whether the Centre or states have the power to regulate, Kharge questioned "Why the rush to ban now?"
He said prohibition is not the solution and called for regulating skill-based platforms, enforcing IT Rules, 2021, and whitelisting legitimate operators.
"A well-balanced regulation will ensure jobs, revenue, safer users, national security and global innovation," he said, cautioning that "a blanket ban will not only lead to revenue loss, but will give rise to illegal markets that might threaten national security and, of course, there will be a huge innovation setback. Regulation is the way forward."
The proposed promotion and regulation of online gaming bill, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday, prohibits online money gaming or its ads, and prescribes imprisonment or fine, or both, for those offering or advertising them, as it seeks to differentiate such games from eSports or online social games, according to a source.
At the same time, the bill calls for promotion of eSports and online social games, the source said, adding that it acknowledges that formal recognition of eSports will enable India to tune into global competitive gaming landscape, spur innovation, create opportunities for Indian startup ecosystem and make the country a global magnate for game development.
The bill proposes that any person offering online money gaming service in violation of the stipulated provisions will face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine that may extend to Rs 1 crore, or both.
The provisions also stipulate imprisonment of up to two years and or a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh, or both, for those indulging in advertisements in contravention of rules. Also, those engaging in any transaction or authorisation of funds will be liable for up to three years imprisonment, or a fine up to Rs 1 crore or both, according to the source.
