The cricket world was rattled when the ICC’s latest ODI batting rankings, published on Wednesday, showed no sign of Indian superstars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. For fans and cricket observers alike, their sudden omission from the top-100 list was inexplicable, especially since only a week ago, Rohit Sharma occupied the No.2 position and Virat Kohli was ranked fourth. Both players remain active exclusively in the ODI format, having retired from Tests and T20Is previously, which fueled confusion and rampant speculation regarding their international careers.

Drama quickly spread online, with trending hashtags and impassioned posts pondering whether this surprise was a precursor to retirement announcements. Kohli and Rohit have delivered pivotal performances for India this year, including the Champions Trophy where Rohit led India to the title and Kohli amassed critical runs during group matches. Their absence from the rankings not only caused unrest among fans but also led others to joke about the nature of ICC’s rankings, noticing discrepancies such as appearances of retired players on the rankings chart.

ICC officials soon addressed the growing commotion, confirming that the missing names were the result of a technical glitch. An ICC spokesperson stated that “there was an error in our rankings tables today, but it has been rectified.” The anomaly was confined to the ODI batting rankings and did not affect the Test or T20I lists, which already excluded Rohit and Kohli due to their retirements from those formats. The system error, according to ICC and cricket publishers, accounted for both the absence and the temporary reshuffling of top batting spots, with Babar Azam unexpectedly moving up before the correction was made.

Following swift technical intervention, both Kohli and Rohit were reinstated in their rightful positions. Rohit reclaimed second spot, and Kohli was restored to fourth, right behind Shubman Gill and Babar Azam, once again putting them in company with the world's best ODI batters. The ICC’s prompt clarification settled concerns over retirements and rankings policies, reaffirming that the duo’s contributions to India's ODI fortunes remain undisputed. The incident served as a reminder of how fan and media reaction to cricketing statistics continues to shape the narrative of the sport globally.