ICC Test Rankings: R. Ashwin remains second in bowlers list

Ravichandran Ashwin retained the number two position in the latest ICC Test Bowlers Rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday. He is the only Indian bowler to feature in the top ten rankings. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah has also held on to his 11th position as he missed the top ten by five points.

Ashwin performed phenomenally well in the three test matches he played in Australia at the start of 2021. He carried his good form in the home series against England. In four test matches, the experienced off-spinner took 32 wickets and scored one century.

Pakistani bowlers were the biggest gainers in the recent update of rankings. On Wednesday, Shaheen Afridi achieved a career-best position in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings. Fast bowler Hasan Ali (5-27 in the first innings), left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi (5-52 in the second innings) and left-arm spinner Nauman Ali (5-86 in the second innings) played important roles as Pakistan won the second Test against Zimbabwe in Harare by an innings and 147 runs to complete a 2-0 series win. Courtesy of this performance, they became the first trio in 28 years from their country to grab five-wicket hauls in the same match.

Hasan jumped six places to the 14th position, Shaheen is up to nine places to 22nd and Nauman has gone from 54th to the 46th position after registering only the sixth instance of three bowlers from one side finishing with five-wicket hauls in the same Test.

The last time when three players from the same team took a five-wicket haul were Australia’s Paul Reiffel, Shane Warne, and Tim May achieved the feat against England at Edgbaston in 1993. Australian Pacer Pat Cummins was able to retain his first position with 908 points.

ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings

1. Pat Cummins               AUS    908
2. Ravi Ashwin                IND     850  
3. Neil Wagner                 NZ      825  
4. James Anderson           ENG   822  
5. Josh Hazlewood           AUS   816  
6. Tim Southee                 NZ     811  
7. Stuart Broad                 ENG  792  
8. Jason Holder                WI     755
9.  Kagiso Rabada            SA     753  
10.  Mitchell Starc             AUS   744