ICC Rankings: Bumrah becomes number 1 Test bowler; Jaiswal, Virat make big gains

Dubai [UAE], October 2 (ANI): Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah regained his spot as the number one Test batter, while young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal moved to third spot in the latest ICC Test Rankings issued on Wednesday.

Bumrah overtakes teammate Ravichandran Ashwin and claims the premier position for just the second time on the back of his six scalps for the match during India’s recent seven-wicket triumph over Bangladesh in Kanpur, which included three scalps per innings, as per ICC.

Ashwin claimed five wickets of his own during that match and is only one point behind Bumrah’s rating of 870 points, while Bangladesh will be buoyed by the improvements made from Mehidy Hasan (up four spots to 18th) and veteran spinner Shakib Al Hasan (up five places to 28th).

Sri Lanka spinner Prabath Jayasuriya gained a new career-high rating as he rose one place to equal seventh on the Test bowling ranks on the back of his Player of the Series exploits of 18 wickets against New Zealand, but this week’s rankings update belongs to India following their series sweep over Bangladesh that puts them in the box seat of reaching next year’s ICC World Test Championship final.

India moved further clear at the top of the World Test Championship standings courtesy of their victory over Bangladesh and are well placed to earn a spot in a third consecutive final.

Opener Jaiswal was adjudged Player of the Match during the rain affected Test against Bangladesh and the left-hander reached a new career-high rating when jumping two places to third on the updated Test batter rankings as a result of his scores of 72 and 51 from the clash.

It means Jaiswal only has England’s Joe Root and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson ahead of him on the updated rankings for Test batters, while teammate Virat Kohli is back inside the top 10 after he gained six places to move to sixth overall following scores of 47 and 29* against Bangladesh.

In-form Sri Lanka right-hander Kamindu Mendis is another player on the move, with the 26-year-old improving five places to 11th and reaching a new career-high rating after he scored another century in the second Test of his side’s recent series with New Zealand.

Compatriots Dinesh Chandimal (up six spots to 20th) and Angelo Mathews (up four places to 23rd) also gain ground on the list for Test batters, while Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan (up two places to fifth) is the big mover on the Test all-rounder rankings as India’s Ravindra Jadeja maintained his healthy lead on top.

There were also some changes on the latest white-ball rankings, with Australia’s Steve Smith gaining one place to move to 20th on the list for ODI batters following the completion of his side’s series against England.

England duo Harry Brook (up 73 spots to 50th) and Ben Duckett (up 30 places to 54th) reached new career-high ratings for batters, while teammates Adil Rashid (up four rungs to 24th) and Jofra Archer (up 16 spots to 40th) were the big improves on the list for ODI bowlers.

On the latest T20I rankings, South Africa dasher Reeza Hendricks gains five rungs to improve to 11th for batters, while Nepal star Dipendra Singh Airee gains a new career-high rating on the list for all-rounders as he moves up four spots to second.