New Delhi: Harry Brook, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Rizwan have made big jumps as per the latest update to the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings released on Wednesday after notching up fine batting performances in the longest format of the game last week.
Though right-hander batter Joe Root maintains his place as the top-ranked Test batter following England’s five-wicket win in the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Manchester, Brook making 56 and 32 in the same game has lifted him three places to fourth position, going past India captain Rohit Sharma, Australia batter Steve Smith and Pakistan batter Babar Azam in the rankings.
Brook is now just one place behind his career-best third position, which came following his second-innings century against the West Indies at Trent Bridge last month. Azam, meanwhile, drops a whopping six places to fall to ninth place following lean returns in Pakistan’s ten-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.
His team-mate Rizwan is in the top 10 for the first time after scores of 171 not out and 51 took him to tenth place. For Bangladesh, who got their first Test win over Pakistan, Mushfiqur’s match-winning 191 in the first innings helped him advance seven places to a career-best-equalling 17th position.
Others batters to move up in the Test rankings include Sri Lanka duo of Dinesh Chandimal (up four places to 23rd) and Kamindu Mendis (up eight places to 36th), Bangladesh’s Liton Das (up two places to 27th), England’s Jamie Smith (up 22 places to 42nd), and Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel (gained one place to move to 13th).
In the Test bowling rankings, England’s pace bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes is up four places to 16th after taking three wickets each in both innings against Sri Lanka while for the visitors, pacer Asitha Fernando is up 10 places to 17th after also finishing with six wickets in the match.
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah (up four places to 33rd), England pace duo of Gus Atkinson (up four places to 42nd) and Matthew Potts (up five places to 57th) are other prominent movers in the bowling rankings.
In the Men’s T20I Player Rankings, West Indies’ explosive batter Nicholas Pooran has moved into the top 10 after scores of 65 not out, 19 and 35 in a 3-0 victory over South Africa in Trinidad to now be at ninth place. South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks is another one to gain, moving up to 13th position, while Pooran’s team-mate Shai Hope is up 32 places to equal 40th.
In the bowling rankings, West Indies’ left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein has moved up four places to second position after taking four wickets in three matches. Gudakesh Motie, also a left-arm spinner from the West Indies, is just one position behind Hosein after moving up 10 slots while pace bowling all-rounder Romario Shepherd is up to 31st position.
–IANS
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