Ashwin Takes No. 1 Spot in ICC Test Bowlers Rankings
Cricket fans worldwide are excited as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the latest rankings following the conclusion of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Indian and Australian players have seen major changes in their rankings, and it’s time to take a closer look at the movers and shakers.
The veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named Player of the Series after taking an impressive 25 wickets at an average of 17.28. This helped the 36-year-old to regain sole ownership of the No.1 spot for Test bowlers ahead of England’s James Anderson.
With a ten-point difference in the top two positions, Ashwin is leading the charts with 869 points, while Anderson holds the second position with 859 points.
During the Test series against Australia, Ashwin and Jadeja were the chief orchestrators for India in the series, with the former taking 25 wickets and the latter 22. It’s surprising to see Jadeja drop a spot from 8th to 9th in the Test bowlers’ rankings despite his brilliant performance in the series.
Other Rankers from Team India
In addition to Ashwin, teammate Virat Kohli has been the big mover on the Test batter charts, climbing seven places to 13th overall. Kohli broke a 1205-day drought without a Test century when he hit a superb 186 in the drawn final match of the series, and his recent form has propelled him up the rankings.
He is now on the heels of teammates Rishabh Pant (ninth) and Rohit Sharma (10th) as India players ahead of him on the Test batter rankings.
Axar Patel also made a significant jump in the rankings, moving up eight places to be ranked No. 44 on the list of Test batters. Although he only picked up two wickets in the series, his batting exploits, including three half-centuries and a career-best innings of 84, helped India to comprehensive wins.
Patel also gained one place to find himself at the fourth spot on the list for all-rounders.
Other Players Who Reached the ICC Rankings
Meanwhile, the Australian players have also made eye-catching moves, with experienced opener Usman Khawaja improving two spots to seventh on the Test batter rankings following a series-high 333 runs.
Cameron Green, the emerging all-rounder, has also made an impressive jump of 11 places to 26th on the list for batters after scoring his maiden Test century in the fourth Test. Travis Head, the left-handed opener, has maintained his fifth place on the rankings for Test batters at a new career high of 853 rating points.
Even More Players in the ICC Rankings
Aside from players from India and Australia, the Bangladesh players made some rankings joy in the shortest format following their impressive 3-0 series sweep over reigning ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champions England on home soil.
Najmul Hossain Shanto shot up 68 spots to 16th overall on the list for T20I batters, and experienced opener Litton Das improved nine places to 22nd after his match-winning half-century in the third and final game of the series in Mirpur.
Left-arm quick Mustafizur Rahman moved up 16 places to 20th overall on the T20I rankings for bowlers, while inspirational skipper Shakib Al Hasan improved nine spots to equal 24th on the same list.
Overall, it’s great to see some movement in the ICC rankings after a tumultuous year for cricket. With the T20 World Cup and the Ashes coming up later this year, fans can expect some fierce competition and intense battles for the top spot in the rankings.
