Bangladesh’s Shakib closes gap on Jadeja’s No. 1 spot in Test rankings for all-rounders

Dubai, June 22 (IANS): Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan has moved closer to re-claiming his crown as the best all-rounder in Test cricket by jumping to second on the latest list of ICC Test Player Rankings.

Shakib moved up two spots to second on the latest all-rounder rankings that were released by the ICC on Wednesday, with India left-hander RavindraJadeja the only player now in front of him.

Shakib has been in action for Bangladesh in the ongoing Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean and the 35-year-old produced an excellent performance with the bat in particular during the first Test of the two-match series.

The Bangladesh skipper top-scored in the first innings with a stylish 51 and backed that up in the second innings with an even more impressive knock of 63 that helped force West Indies to bat a second time.

If Shakib was to re-claim the top ranking for all-rounders it would cap off a massive turnaround for one of Bangladesh’s greatest players of all time.

Shakib first claimed the top ranking for Test all-rounders way back in December of 2011 and has since maintained his position near the top despite some injury concerns late in his career.

He currently has a rating of 346 points, but still has a long way to go if he wants to overtake Jadeja at the head of proceedings who has an outstanding 385 rating points.

Shakib also jumped 14 places to 32nd on the latest Test batting rankings, with new No.1 Joe Root hanging on to top spot following his exploits against New Zealand earlier this month.

West Indies quick Kemar Roach also made his move on the updated list for bowlers, with the veteran right-armer jumping four spots to eighth following an impressive display against Bangladesh.

Roach picked up seven wickets in the first Test and was deservedly named Player of the Match for his efforts and that translated to a massive spike inside the top 10 for bowlers.

The 33-year-old moved in front of New Zealand duo Neil Wagner and Trent Boult and Australian pair Josh Hazelwood and Mitchell Starc, with Pat Cummins still rated as the highest ranked bowler on the latest rankings.

There was some movement on the latest set of T20 rankings too, with a host of India players making giant strides following their recently completed series against South Africa that ended tied at two games apiece.

Veteran Dinesh Karthik jumped a massive 108 spots to 87th on the rankings for batters, but even more eye-catching was the move inside the top 10 by young opener IshanKishan.

Kishan finished the series with two half centuries and as the leading run scorer with 206 runs at an average of 41 and that form catapulted the left-hander up one spot to sixth on the latest rankings for batters.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam still holds top billing on the T20 batting rankings, but Kishan is the only India player rated inside the top 10.

YuzvendraChahal was the biggest mover on the T20 rankings for bowlers with the India spinner jumping three places to 23rd following his six wickets during the South Africa series.

Hazlewood maintains his position as the top ranked T20 bowler, with Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan (equal third) and Sri Lanka tweakerWaninduHasaranga (sixth) both moving up a place inside the top 10.