In a notable shift at the top of the ICC rankings, Marco Jansen has emerged as the premier bowler and allrounder in Test cricket, while Abhishek Sharma has reclaimed his place as the leading batsman in T20 International cricket.
South Africa’s Jansen has been in exceptional form during the ongoing Test series against Australia. He has claimed ten wickets over the first two Tests and provided crucial runs. His standout moment came in the second Test, where he delivered an impressive 5 for 33, contributing significantly to restricting Australia to a mere 99 runs after scoring a critical 85 from the No. 8 position.
Jansen’s swift ascent has caused formidable bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Matt Henry, Ollie Robinson, and Jasprit Bumrah to drop a position each, with Jansen now leading with 876 points. Starc, though, has responded with a six-wicket haul in the third Test, suggesting further shifts could be imminent.
In the allrounders’ category, Jansen has smoothly overtaken Ravindra Jadeja, who had held the top rank for over four years.
In T20 cricket, India’s Abhishek Sharma has staged a remarkable comeback. After moderate outings in the first two matches of the New Zealand T20I series, he exploded in the third match with a century off just 35 balls, as India chased down 199 to secure a clean sweep of the first three matches in the five-match series. With Ishan Kishan sidelined after the first match due to injury, Abhishek seized the opportunity to ascend the rankings, having lost the top spot to Kishan in July.
Other noteworthy movements in the rankings from the South Africa-Australia Test series include Temba Bavuma. He was named Player of the Match in the second Test, thanks to his impressive first-innings score of 179, moving him up to No. 2 among Test batters, behind only Harry Brook. Brook made significant gains in ODIs, climbing six places after his 202-run innings against Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-series hosted in Pakistan.
Scott Boland progressed three places to reach sixth among Test bowlers, while Simon Harmer climbed 15 spots to eighth among allrounders following their contributions to South Africa’s victory in the second Test.
In the ODI rankings, Shaheen Shah Afridi has moved two places up to sixth, and Azmatullah Omarzai jumped an impressive 13 places to seventh following their performances in the tri-series held in Pakistan and the UAE, respectively.
