ICC Rankings: Bumrah Matches Ashwin’s Record as Top-Rated Indian Test Bowler

Dubai, Dec 25 (NationPress) Jasprit Bumrah, India's premier fast bowler, has reinforced his number one ranking in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings after an outstanding display in Brisbane. Bumrah's incredible nine-wicket tally for just 94 runs in the rain-affected third Test against Australia awarded him 14 additional rating points, elevating his total to a career-best of 904.

With this rating, Bumrah has matched the record previously held by former spinner Ravichandran Ashwin since December 2016, making him the joint highest-rated Indian Test bowler in ICC history. With one more Test remaining in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy scheduled in Melbourne, Bumrah has an opportunity to surpass Ashwin’s record.

Currently, South Africa's Kagiso Rabada and Australia's Josh Hazlewood are in second and third positions, respectively, but they lag behind Bumrah by a significant margin in points.

In the ongoing series against India, Australia's Travis Head has continued his impressive form, moving up to fourth in the Men’s Test Batting Rankings. His stellar innings of 152 at the Gabba, following his century in Adelaide, has propelled him one rank higher to number four with 825 points.

Meanwhile, Australian teammate Steve Smith has re-entered the top ten after scoring a century in the third Test. In contrast, Indian opener KL Rahul has improved his position, rising ten places to 40th due to his solid performance in India’s first innings.

Australia's captain Pat Cummins has re-established himself in the top 10 all-rounders, thanks to his four wickets and 42 runs in the third Test against India.

In One Day Internationals (ODIs), Heinrich Klaasen has surged from 13th to fifth place in the Men's ODI Batting Rankings, following three impressive half-centuries in the home series against Pakistan, earning 743 points. Saim Ayub also made headlines with two centuries in the same series, leading to a remarkable leap from 70th to joint-23rd position, with a total of 603 points.

The 22-year-old Ayub has also made significant strides in the ODI Rankings for all-rounders, climbing 113 spots to share the joint-42nd rank with America's Steven Taylor due to his bowling contributions in the series.

Afghanistan's Azmatullah Omarzai has also made notable advancements, moving up 43 places to 58th in the ODI Bowling Rankings after taking six wickets against Zimbabwe. He has also climbed five ranks to secure third in the ODI All-Rounder Rankings.

Bangladesh's success on their multi-format tour of the West Indies concluded with a dominant 3-0 victory in the T20I series, reflected in the updated rankings. Mahedi Hasan has ascended 13 spots to break into the top 10 of the T20I Bowling Rankings, now positioned at 10th place. Roston Chase from the West Indies has also shown impressive performance, moving up 11 places to rank 13th.

Other Bangladeshi players who have made significant improvements include Rishad Hossain, who jumped 21 spots to 17th, and Hasan Mahmud, who climbed 23 spots to 24th, further enhancing their team's standing in the rankings.