Dubai, March 10: South Africa's AB de Villiers has regained the top spot in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen after leading the list of run-scorers in the recent series against New Zealand which his side won 3-2.

De Villiers' 262 runs in the series, including a highest of 85 in the 3rd ODI at Wellington, have helped him overtake Australia opener David Warner at the top of the ladder, reclaiming the top spot within 2 months of losing it to India captain Virat Kohli.

De Villiers is on 875 points, 4 points ahead of Warner and 23 clear of Kohli in the rankings released today (March 10) that take into account performances in 15 ODIs, also including West Indies' 3-0 loss to England, Afghanistan's 3-2 win over Zimbabwe and Ireland's 2-0 verdict over the United Arab Emirates.

It is for the 10th time that the 33-year-old de Villiers is at the top of the rankings since first taking the spot in May 2010. He has never been ranked outside the top five since September 2009.

England batsmen Joe Root and Alex Hales are major gainers as they have reached career-best rankings after the series in the Caribbean. Root has reached fourth spot after scoring 195 runs including 101 in the final match in Bridgetown. Hales, who knocked up 110 in the same match, his fifth century in the last 20 ODIs, has gained four spots to reach 16th position.

Other batsmen to make upward movement include the New Zealand pair of Martin Guptill (up two places to seventh rank) and Ross Taylor (up two places to 14th) and the Ireland pair of Ed Joyce (up one place to 28th) and Kevin O'Brien (up three places to 40th).

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ICC ODI Player Rankings (as of 10 March, including West Indies Vs England, New Zealand Vs South Africa, Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe and UAE Vs Ireland series)

Batsmen (top 10)

(Read as Rank (+/-), Player, Team, Points)

1. (+1) AB de Villiers SA 875

2. (-1) David Warner Aus 871

3. ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 852

4. (+4) Joe Root Eng 787

5. (-1) Faf du Plessis SA 781

6. (-1) Q. de Kock SA 780

7. (+2) Martin Guptill NZ 777

8. (-2) Kane Williamson NZ 758

9= (+1) Babar Azam Pak 733

(+1) Steve Smith Aus 733

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