Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has regained his world No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings after a brilliant showing against England in his 100th Test outing.
Ashwin’s nine-wicket haul helped India beat England by an innings and 64 runs in the fifth Test at Dharamshala last week. The veteran spinner, with 26 scalps, was the top wicket-taker in the five-match India vs England Test 2024 series, which the hosts won 4-1.
Starting the series against England in January as the top-ranked bowler in the longest format, Ashwin lost his perch to compatriot Jasprit Bumrah after the second Test in Visakhapatnam. The 37-year-old spinner, however, came roaring back and picked up consecutive five-wicket hauls in the fourth and fifth Tests, tallying a total of 15 wickets from both matches.
In the latest rankings revealed on Wednesday, Ashwin, with 870 rating points, tops the list ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Jasprit Bumrah, both of whom have 847 points. Ravindra Jadeja is the other Indian bowler in the top 10 at seventh place with 788 points.
In what turned out to be an eventful series, Ashwin first completed 500 Test wickets in the third Test at Rajkot, becoming only the second Indian to do so. He then scalped nine wickets for 128 runs in Dharamshala to record the best figures by any player in his centenary Test. Muttiah Muralitharan, with figures of 9 for 141, held the record previously.
Ashwin’s 5/77 in the second innings was also his 36th fifer in Test cricket - the most by an Indian. He was previously tied with Anil Kumble for the record.
Yashasvi Jaiswal ranked No. 8 in Test batters
Yashasvi Jaiswal, meanwhile, jumped two places to eighth in the ICC rankings for Test batters. The left-handed Jaiswal enjoyed an excellent series against England with the bat, scoring 712 runs in five Test matches at an average of 89.00. His haul included two double hundreds.
The 22-year-old Jaiswal, who was named the Player of the Series against England, aggregates 740 rating points after nine Tests. Only two batters – Australia’s Don Bradman (752) and Mike Hussey (741) - have tallied more after as many Tests.
India captain Rohit Sharma, at sixth with 751 points, is the best-placed Indian on the batters’ list. Virat Kohli, who missed the England series, sits on ninth, one rung below Jaiswal.
Team India continues to top the Test team ranking list with 122 points with Australia second at 120 points. India are also on top of the World Test Championship points table for the 2023-25 cycle.
