DUBAI: India’s Rohit Sharma jumped eight spots to claim a career-best fifth position in the ICC batsman rankings after a stellar showing in the recent series against top-ranked Australia.

Man-of-the-Series Rohit, who made 441 runs in the five matches, struck two centuries and a match-winning 99 in the consolation win for the visitors, who lost the series 1-4.

Rohit, who played in the 2006 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, has now become India’s second highest-ranked batsman behind Virat Kohli (second), with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni slipping seven places to 13th position in the latest rankings, which were released on Sunday. The 28-year-old Mumbai batsman earned 59 points for his performances and he is now 64 points behind Kohli, who trails No. 1 ranked A.B. de Villiers of South Africa by 75 points. Meanwhile, India, after winning the Sydney ODI, has retained its second position. Australia’s dominant performance in the series is reflected in the fact that Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith have improved their rankings, while David Warner, Mitchell Marsh and John Hastings have achieved a career-high ranking. Outside the top 20, Ajinkya Rahane has moved up three places to 25th after contributing 141 runs, and Marsh has rocketed 21 places to 43rd after scoring 164 runs. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has dropped two places to 11th, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has slipped seven places to 20th, James Faulkner has plummeted seven places to 28th, Axar Patel has fallen four places to 33rd and Umesh Yadav has plunged five places to 41st. — PTI