Ravindra Jadeja leapfrogs to second spot as Karun Nair and KL Rahul also surge up in latest ICC rankings
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took a huge leap of 66 points to close in on fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the latest ICC Test rankings released for batsmen and bowlers. This is only the second time that the top two spots in the bowling rankings have been occupied by Indians.
Steve Smith continues to stay atop the table for Test batsmen, followed by India’s captain Virat Kohli, England’s Joe Root, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and South Africa’s Hashim Amla. Cheteshwar Pujara is the only other Indian in the top-10, just above England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, at ninth position.
Ajinkya Rahane slipped out of the top-10 after the second Test, moving to the 13th place, while Ravichandran Ashwin also featured in the top-40 in the batsmen’s list.
Ashwin continues to occupy the number one spot in the bowling table but has tough competition from his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja, who now trails the Tamil Nadu off-spinner by a mere eight points. Mohammed Shami, who didn’t play the fifth Test of the India-England series, is the only other Indian bowler in the top-20, occupying the last slot, just below Australia’s Peter Siddle.
Jadeja took a jump of 66 points to reach the No.2 spot, usurping Sri Lankan veteran Rangana Herath, who now sits on No.3. Ashwin and Jadeja have repeated the feat of Bishan Singh Bedi and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, who were the first and only Indian duo to occupy the first two spots in the bowlers’ rankings.
While Ashwin took a total of 28 wickets in the series, Jadeja took 26, including the 10-154 in the final Test, his maiden ten-wicket haul in a Test match.
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc moved up by six places after helping his side clinch the first Test against Pakistan, taking seven wickets at The Gabba. KL Rahul and Karun Nair, basking in the glory of mammoth knocks in the fifth Test, have taken massive leaps as well, jumping by 29 places and 122 places respectively.
Asad Shafiq, who scored a fighting century in the final innings but couldn’t take Pakistan past the finishing line, jumped five places to reach the 20th spot, while his teammates Azhar Ali and Younis Khan moved to the sixteenth and eighth spot respectively.
Test rankings for batsmen
| No. | Batsmen | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Steve Smith (AUS) | 918 |
| 2. | Virat Kohli (IND) | 875 |
| 3. | Joe Root (ENG) | 848 |
| 4. | Kane Williamson (NZ) | 817 |
| 5. | Hashim Amla (SA) | 791 |
| 6. | AB de Villiers (SA) | 778 |
| 7. | David Warner (AUS) | 749 |
| 8. | Younis Khan (PAK) | 745 |
| 9. | Cheteshwar Pujara (IND) | 739 |
| 10. | Jonny Bairstow (ENG) | 731 |
Test rankings for bowlers
| No. | Bowlers | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | R Ashwin (IND) | 887 |
| 2. | Ravindra Jadeja (IND) | 879 |
| 3. | Rangana Herath (SL) | 867 |
| 4. | Dale Steyn (SA) | 844 |
| 5. | James Anderson (ENG) | 810 |
| 6. | Mitchell Starc (AUS) | 805 |
| 7. | Josh Hazlewood (AUS) | 804 |
| 8. | Stuart Broad (ENG) | 803 |
| 9. | Neil Wagner (NZ) | 760 |
| 10. | Yasir Shah (PAK) | 754 |
Test rankings for all-rounders
| No. | All-rounders | Ranking Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | R Ashwin (IND) | 482 |
| 2. | Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 405 |
| 3. | Ravindra Jadeja (IND) | 376 |
| 4. | Ben Stokes (ENG) | 327 |
| 5. | Moeen Ali(ENG) | 312 |
| 6. | Vernon Philander(SA) | 289 |
| 7. | Mitchell Starc(AUS) | 267 |
| 8. | Rangana Herath (SL) | 223 |
| 9. | Stuart Broad (ENG) | 219 |
| 10. | Chris Woakes (ENG) | 205 |