Jasprit Bumrah, a key player in the Indian cricket team, achieved a significant milestone on Wednesday. He surpassed his fellow teammate Ravichandran Ashwin to become the No.1 bowler in the latest ICC Men’s Test Bowler rankings. This makes him the first Indian pacer to achieve this feat. Bumrah climbed from the third spot to the top after an impressive nine-wicket performance in the second Test against England in Vizag, contributing to India’s series-leveling victory.
Kagiso Rabada from South Africa maintained his second spot, despite missing the ongoing two-match Test series against New Zealand. Ravichandran Ashwin, who had held the top position since March the previous year, dropped to the third spot after claiming three wickets in the same match.
Jasprit Bumrah, at 30 years old, expressed his reaction through a photo on his Instagram story, illustrating the theme of ‘The Support’ versus ‘The Congratulations.’ He became the fourth Indian bowler to top the rankings after Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Bishan Bedi.
Before this achievement, Bumrah had never risen above the third spot, despite having five 10-wicket hauls in his career. Two of these impressive performances occurred in 2024, one against South Africa in Cape Town in January (6/61), and the other in the recent match against England (6/45).
In the Test batting rankings, Yashasvi Jaiswal climbed 37 places to the 29th spot after scoring a double ton (209) in the second Test against England. Kane Williamson and Steve Smith retained the top two spots, while Joe Root dropped to third.
In the all-rounder rankings, England’s Ben Stokes moved to fourth, and India’s Axar Patel claimed the fifth spot after the conclusion of the Vizag Test.
Turning to the ODI bowler rankings, Adam Zampa from Australia secured the third spot, with Keshav Maharaj from South Africa at the top and Josh Hazlewood in the second spot.
In the ODI batsmen rankings, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam maintained his top position, with India’s Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma closely following in the second, third, and fourth spots, respectively.
