New Delhi: Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah achieved a historic milestone on Wednesday by becoming the highest-ranked Indian Test bowler in the history of ICC rankings, surpassing Ravichandran Ashwin's previous record of 904 rating points, as reported by the ICC.
With a total of 907 points, Bumrah is now tied for 17th place on the all-time list alongside England's Derek Underwood.
Bumrah's exceptional performance in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series, where he claimed nine wickets during the match at the MCG against Australia, has solidified his position as the top Test bowler in the latest rankings update.
The Test Bowling Rankings also reflect a notable rise for Australian captain Pat Cummins, who gained 15 rating points after taking six wickets in the Boxing Day Test, moving up to third place in the bowling rankings. Cummins also ranks third in the Test All-Rounder Rankings, thanks to his impressive bowling performance and scoring 90 vital runs during Australia's significant victory in Melbourne.
Another fast bowler, Marco Jansen, made significant progress following his performance on Boxing Day, climbing six places to fifth in the bowling rankings after securing seven wickets in South Africa's win over Pakistan in the Centurion match. This marks the first occasion Jansen has exceeded 800 rating points.
In the same match, Aiden Markram's determined innings of 89 and 37 helped him re-enter the top 20 batters globally, as South Africa clinched their place in the ICC Test Championship final with a win over Pakistan.
Notable performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal (up one place to a career-best fourth), Steve Smith (up three places to seventh), Saud Shakeel (up three places to a career-best sixth), and Nitish Kumar Reddy (up 20 places to 53) in these matches contributed to their advancements in the Test batting rankings.
In contrast, the Zimbabwe-Afghanistan Boxing Day Test in Bulawayo featured an impressive display of batting, resulting in six centuries being recorded. This performance led to notable advancements in batting rankings for Rahmat Shah, who rose 21 positions to 52, and Hashmatullah Shahidi, who climbed 25 spots to tie for 57, both achieving record-breaking double hundreds for Afghanistan.
For Zimbabwe, Sean Williams emerged as a key player, moving up 10 places to 19 with a rating of 653 points, marking the highest ranking for a Zimbabwean batsman since Brendan Taylor in 2014. Additionally, Craig Ervine improved by five positions to equal 47, while Brian Bennett made his debut in the top 100 Test bowlers following his first five-wicket haul.
Moreover, players participating in the ongoing T20I series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka also saw improvements in the T20I rankings. Pathum Nissanka advanced three places, nearing the top five batters, while Mitchell Santner entered the top 10 in the bowling rankings.
