India have made a perfect start to the tournament, with three wins from their first three. While Kohli has made important contributions with the bat, scoring a crucial 85 in India’s tournament opener against Australia and an unbeaten half-century against Afghanistan, that’s not where his utility ends.

In new ratings published by the ICC, Kohli has earned the title as ‘most impactful fielder’ in the competition’s early rounds. He’s been given a rating of 22.30, putting him just above Joe Root in second position on 21.73 points.

Kohli has taken three catches in the competition so far, involved in the wickets of Adam Zampa, Mitchell Marsh and Najibullah Zadran. That’s two fewer catches than the lead non-wicketkeeper catchers (Matt Henry and David Warner). It’s also fewer than Joe Root, who has taken four catches all of which came against Afghanistan.

[caption id=”attachment_587764″ align=”alignnone” width=”902″] ICC fielder rankings after three rounds of World Cup 2023 competition[/caption]

However, Kohli tops the list through a combination of his catches, the runs he has saved in the field and performance in high pressure scenarios. Kohli is well known for his animated presence in the field, often hyping up both India’s bowlers and the crowd.

India have also been rated as the best fielding side as a whole, having taken 14 catches in the tournament and only dropping two. They have also saved ten runs as a side and have performed well in 16 ‘incidences under pressure’. England are the only side who have dropped fewer catches than they have.

India players have also been named the best fielder in each of their matches so far. Kohli was given the award after their opening victory over Australia, with Shardul Thakur and KL Rahul earning the title in their wins over Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively.