R Ashwin maintains No.1 Test bowler spot; Rahane, Shardul jump up positions in latest ICC Test rankings

Despite not featuring in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final, Ravichandran Ashwin continued to hold on to his No.1 spot on the Test bowlers’ rankings, while middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane and all-rounder Shardul Thakur made up a few positions, as per ICC’s latest release. 

Rahane was one of India’s standout players from the WTC Final, registering scores of 89 & 46 that earned him the 37th spot in the men’s Test batting rankings while Thakur, who continued his love affair with The Oval and notched up another half-century (109-ball 51) at the venue, moved up six places to 94th on the same list.

Thakur also made up three places to take the 31st spot on the Test all-rounders’ list, which features India star Ravindra Jadeja currently occupying the top spot. Rishabh Pant, who missed out on the WTC Final due to injury, remained the only Indian player among the top 10 ranked Test batsmen.  

For Australia, who emerged as World Test Champions, there was much to celebrate with Travis Head jumping up to third spot on the men’s Test batting rankings, joining Marnus Labuschagne (No.1), Steve Smith (No.2) and Usman Khawaja (No.4) as the four Australians in the top 10.