Jasprit Bumrah has etched his name in history, securing the coveted top spot in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings after a stellar performance in the second match of the ICC World Test Championship series against England in Visakhapatnam. This achievement marks him as the first Indian pacer to reach this pinnacle.
The 30-year-old fast bowler’s remarkable feat comes on the heels of an outstanding display, where he claimed a total of nine wickets in the match. Bumrah’s ascent to the top-ranking places him alongside prominent Indian spinners Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Bishan Singh Bedi, making him the fourth player from India to achieve this milestone.
Bumrah’s impressive bowling figures include a noteworthy 6/61 against South Africa in Cape Town at the beginning of the year and a stellar 6/45 in the recent encounter against England. This outstanding performance not only secured his place at the top but also contributed significantly to India’s victory by 106 runs in Visakhapatnam, leveling the five-match series.
The Indian pacer’s climb to the summit breaks Ashwin’s 11-month reign as the Player of the Match. Despite having accumulated ten five-wicket hauls in his 34 Test matches for India, Bumrah had never risen higher than third in the rankings until now.
With 881 rating points, Bumrah surpasses the ratings of both Ashwin (904) and Jadeja (899), establishing himself as the leading bowler from India. It is noteworthy that Ashwin and Jadeja had jointly held the top position in March 2017. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, a pace bowler, retains his second position in the rankings, despite missing the Test series against New Zealand. In the same series, Ashwin’s relatively subdued performance, claiming only three wickets, sees him drop to the third position after maintaining the top spot since March of the previous year. Jasprit Bumrah’s historic achievement adds another chapter to India’s cricketing successes, particularly in the realm of Test bowling.
