Babar Azam overtakes Virat Kohli in Test Rankings

Jasprit Bumrah and Dimuth Karunaratne have made significant gains in the latest ICC Test Rankings, following their brilliance in the recently concluded India-Sri Lanka Test series. Virat Kohli, meanwhile, has slipped from fifth to ninth among batters.

Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged eight wickets, including his maiden Test five-for at home in the second India v Sri Lanka Test in Bangalore, jumped up six spots to attain fourth ranking in the ICC Test Rankings for bowlers. The Indian speedster leapfrogged Shaheen Afridi, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, James Anderson, Neil Wagner and Josh Hazlewood in the table.

🔹 Jasprit Bumrah breaks into top 5 💪
🔹 Jason Holder reclaims top spot 🔝
🔹 Dimuth Karunaratne rises 📈

Some big movements in the latest @MRFWorldwide ICC Men's Test Player Rankings 🔢

Details 👉 https://t.co/MQENhZlPP8 pic.twitter.com/8OClbDeDtS

— ICC (@ICC) March 16, 2022

Mohammed Shami climbed up a spot to displace fellow countryman Ravindra Jadeja to 17th, while Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama jumped up five positions each to 32nd and 45th slot respectively. Pat Cummins, Ravichandran Ashwin and Kagiso Rabada have retained the top three spots.

In the batting charts, Sri Lanka Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne jumped up to a career best No.5 after his fighting 107 in the second innings in Bangalore. Virat Kohli (742), however, slipped to the ninth spot, with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (743) advancing to No.8 in the table led by Marnus Labuschagne, followed by Joe Root, Steve Smith and Kane Williamson respectively.

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

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