4 players who achieved No. 1 ICC ranking in all formats ft. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah became the first player in cricket history to achieve the number one position in ICC Rankings for bowlers across all formats. Bumrah had attained the pole position in ICC Rankings for ODIs and T20Is in the past, and earlier today (February 7), he rose to the top of the bowlers' rankings in the Test format as well.
Achieving the number one position in the ICC Rankings is quite challenging because so many players compete for the spot. The ICC considers every international match for the rankings and ranks the players based on their recent performances.
Reaching the number one spot in one format is a difficult thing, but here's a list of four cricketers who topped the rankings in all three formats at least once in their careers.
#1 Jasprit Bumrah
The latest entrant in this elite club is Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. As mentioned earlier, Bumrah is the first bowler to accomplish this feat. He is currently the top-ranked bowler in the ICC Test Rankings.
Jasprit Bumrah climbed to the top of the ODI Rankings in February 2018 and tightly held on to the position until February 2020. He had a brief stint at the top again after his six-wicket haul in ODI against England in July 2022.
In the shortest format of the game, Jasprit Bumrah achieved the top ranking in late 2017 and held it for a brief amount of time only. With the T20 World Cup set to be held later this year, Jasprit Bumrah can regain the spot in 2024.
#2 Virat Kohli
Star batter Virat Kohli was the first Indian to join the club of cricketers who achieved the number one ranking in all three formats. Kohli achieved number one ranking in Tests in August 2018 after a magnificent knock against England.
He reached the world number one position in ODIs for the first time in November 2013 but lost it quickly. Later in his career, he held the top spot for more than 1,500 days from 2017 to 2021 in the 50-over format.
Speaking of the T20I format, the Indian star became the top-ranked batter in September 2014. Like the ODI format, Kohli has achieved the pole position in T20Is on multiple occasions in his career.
#3 Ricky Ponting
Former Australian batter Ricky Ponting was known for his destructive batting skills. If Ponting got going, no bowler on earth could stop him. Ponting won multiple championships as captain of the Australian team.
The right-handed batter achieved the pole position in Tests in December 2005 and reigned supreme until November 2007. He rose to the number one position in ICC ODI Rankings in March 2005. Meanwhile, Ponting was the first batter to achieve the number one position in ICC T20I Rankings for batters.
He scored a match-winning 98* in the first-ever T20I match played between Australia and New Zealand in February 2005. The former Australian captain held the top spot almost one year before slipping to number two in February 2006. In the final match of his T20I career, Ponting held the 11th ranking.
#4 Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is the only cricketer to top the ICC Rankings for all-rounders in all three formats. Shakib is currently the world number one all-rounder in the ODI and T20I formats.
In the Test format, he holds the third position right now, but Shakib achieved the number one ranking in December 2011. He also had a stint at the pole position in 2017/18 and he hasn't dropped outside the top 5 since then.