Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has made it to the top five of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings for the first time in his career after a fine show in the first Test against Bangladesh which Pakistan won by eight wickets.
The 21-year-old left-arm bowler, who took seven wickets including a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Chittagong Test, has climbed three spots to fifth position. He surpassed James Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, and Neil Wagner.
Shaheen’s new-ball partner, Hasan Ali, has also achieved a career-best ranking after claiming a similar seven-wicket match haul, which featured a five-for in the first innings. Hasan has advanced five places to 11th place. His previous best in Tests was 14th, reached in May this year.
Pakistan’s opening batters were equally impressive. Abid Ali’s impressive scores of 133 and 91, despite missing out on a century in each innings, have propelled him up 27 slots to a career-best 20th position in the rankings. Additionally, Abdullah Shafique has made his entry into the rankings at 83rd position following his scores of 52 and 73.
In the latest rankings, Mushfiqur Rahim has climbed four places to 19th position after his performances of 91 and 16 runs. Meanwhile, Liton Das has made significant progress, moving up 26 places to a career-best 31st position following his scores of 114 and 59. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam has progressed two places to 23rd after an eight-wicket match haul that included seven scalps in the first innings.
The exciting draw in Kanpur between India and New Zealand featured several standout performances from both teams, impacting the latest weekly update. This update also encompasses the results of the first Test between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in Galle, which the host team won by 187 runs.
Shreyas Iyer’s standout performance in his debut match, scoring 105 and 65 runs, earned him the Player of the Match title and propelled him to 74th position in the rankings. Additionally, opener Shubman Gill climbed six places to 66th, while Wriddhiman Saha rose nine spots to 99th, both players making significant progress after scoring half-centuries.
Ravindra Jadeja’s impressive performance, claiming five wickets in the match, has pushed him up two spots to 19th among bowlers. Additionally, he has advanced one position to second place among all-rounders. Ravichandran Ashwin is the third-ranked all-rounder and 79th among batters.
For New Zealand, Tom Latham’s knocks of 95 and 52 place him back in the top 10 as he goes up from 14th to ninth. Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson is ninth among bowlers, his three wickets in each innings resulting in a gain of six places.
Tim Southee’s outstanding performance, taking eight wickets in the match, has earned him 15 rating points, bringing him to within one point of Ravichandran Ashwin, who currently holds the second position with 840 rating points.
Sri Lanka’s victory in their inaugural ICC Men’s Test Championship match propelled them to the top of the table based on percentage points. Following the Galle Test, they also saw some positive developments in their rankings.
Dimuth Karunaratne’s standout performance in the match, earning him the Player of the Match award, saw him rise four places to seventh in the rankings. This places him just one position below his career-best sixth position achieved in August 2019. Additionally, former captains Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal have also made progress in the rankings, with Mathews moving up two places to 23rd and Chandimal rising four places to 46th.
Lasith Embuldeniya, a left-arm spinner, has climbed four spots to 37th place in the rankings for bowlers, while Praveen Jayawickrama, another left-arm spinner, has advanced six places to 44th. Additionally, off-spinner Ramesh Mendis has made a significant jump of 28 places to reach 57th in the rankings.
