Jasprit Bumrah jumps six spots to fourth in ICC Test Rankings; Kohli drops to ninth

Dubai, March 16 (IANS): India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged eight wickets, including his maiden Test five-wicket haul at home in the second India versus Sri Lanka Test at Bengaluru, has jumped six spots to attain fourth ranking in the latest ICC Test Rankings for bowlers released on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old speedster leapfrogged Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi, New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee, England’s James Anderson, South Africa-born Kiwi cricketer Neil Wagner and Australia’s Josh Hazlewood in the table.

On the other hand, former India skipper Virat Kohli has slipped from fifth to ninth among batters.

India’s pace bowling stalwart Mohammed Shami has climbed a spot to displace fellow countryman Ravindra Jadeja to 17th, while Sri Lanka’s Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama jumped five positions each to 32nd and 45th slot respectively.

Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada have retained the top three spots.

Sri Lankan batter Dimuth Karunaratne too has made significant gains in the latest Test Rankings, breaking into the top-5. Karunaratne jumped to a career-best No.3 after his fighting 107 in the second innings in Bengaluru.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has advanced to No.8 in the table led by Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne, followed by England’s Joe Root, Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson respectively.

West Indies’ Nkrumah Bonner and India’s Shreyas Iyer took giant leaps, advancing a staggering 22 and 40 spots respectively to 22nd and 37th position. While Bonner scored 123 and gritty, unbeaten 38 in the first drawn Test against England in Antigua last week, Iyer was rewarded for his match-winning 92 and 67 against Sri Lanka.

England batter Zak Crawley’s 121 in the second innings against West Indies saw him jump 13 spots to 49th.

In the all-rounders’ table, West Indies’ Jason Holder has reclaimed the top spot, replacing Ravindra Jadeja, who had risen to No.1 after his unbeaten 175 and nine wickets in the Mohali Test earlier this month. Ashwin, Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and England’s Ben Stokes round off the top-five all-rounders.