India’s star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah etched his name in the record books on Wednesday, January 1, with a historic achievement in the latest ICC Test Rankings.
Bumrah not only retained his position as the top-ranked bowler but also achieved the highest-ever rating points by an Indian bowler. With a stellar 907 points, he surpassed Ravichandran Ashwin’s 904 rating points from December 2016, becoming the highest-ranked Indian bowler in ICC Test rankings history. Bumrah’s score also places him joint-17th on the all-time list, alongside England’s Derek Underwood.
Meanwhile, England’s Joe Root maintained his dominance in the batting rankings, holding on to the No. 1 spot. Pakistan’s Saud Shakeel continued his rise, climbing three spots to secure a career-best sixth position.
Australia captain Pat Cummins gained 15 rating points, thanks to his six-wicket haul in the Boxing Day Test, moving up one place to No. 3 in the bowling rankings. South Africa’s Marco Jansen also made significant strides, jumping six places to No. 5 after his seven-wicket performance against Pakistan in the Centurion Boxing Day Test. This milestone marked the first time Jansen crossed 800 rating points.
In the batting rankings, Yashasvi Jaiswal rose one place to a career-best fourth, while Steve Smith climbed three spots to seventh. Saud Shakeel’s steady form helped him reach a career-best sixth position, and Nitish Kumar Reddy made a remarkable jump of 20 places to sit at 53rd.
The Zimbabwe-Afghanistan Boxing Day Test also saw standout performances, with six centuries scored in Bulawayo. Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi registered double hundreds, propelling them to career-best positions—Shah rose 21 places to 52nd, while Shahidi climbed 25 spots to joint-57th, both setting new records for Afghanistan’s highest Test scores.
