Twitter has mixed reactions as Virat Kohli slips below Steve Smith in Test rankings

Virat Kohli, the Indian cricketer, has arguably been one of the greatest cricketers India have ever produced. The Delhi-born cricketer has flourished in all the formats and has carved a reputation as a dependable batsman for whichever team he has gone on to represent. The 29-year old is currently in England where he is leading the Indian team in the five-match Test series.

The visitors have lost the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s respectively and are currently 0-2 down with three matches to be played at Trent Bridge, The Rose Bowl, and Kennington Oval respectively. From the team’s point of view, Kohli hasn’t had the best of times, but from the personal front, he had every reason to cheer. In the first Test, he notched scores of 149 and 51.

Smith overtakes the Indian captain

Albeit the knocks couldn’t get India over the finishing line, Kohli was crowned as the number one ranked batsman in Test cricket on August 5 after the conclusion of the first match. He surpassed Steve Smith, who perched at the helm for 32 straight months. Smith is currently serving a 12-month ban from Cricket Australia (CA) owing to the ball-tampering scandal back in March.

Australia will be playing a couple of Tests against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year and Smith won’t be a part of the side’s campaign. In the meantime, Kohli didn’t have an auspicious time with the willow in the second Test and was dismissed for 23 and 17. To add insult to injury, he also has lost his top ranking to Smith due to the couple of knocks.

Currently, Virat has 919 rating points compared to Smith’s 929. The Indian team needs Virat to perform as India would be looking to make a comeback in the third Test in Nottingham. Meanwhile, Twitter had mixed reactions after Kohli slipped to the second position.

Here is how Twitter reacted