ICC Test Rankings: Rishabh Pant achieves career-best 7th position

Rishabh Pant continues to climb atop in the ICC Men’s Test Players Rankings as he is now placed at a career-best seventh position after smashing a match-winning 101 in the fourth Test against England in Ahmedabad which helped India win by an innings and 25 runs to clinch the series 3-1.

Pant has now moved seven slots and shares seventh place with fellow compatriot Rohit Sharma who moved up one spot and Henry Nicholls of New Zealand. Pant’s 747 rating points are the joint -15th highest by any Indian batsman and the highest by a full-time Test wicket keeper from India.

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There is no surprise that the rankings of spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel would go up as they thoroughly demolished England’s innings time and again during the entire series.

Ashwin, who was also the player of the series jumped over New Zealand’s Neil Wagner to the second spot among the bowlers with a rating of 850 points, the first time since August 2017.

Adding another feather to Ashwin’s cap is that he is also ranked number four among the all-rounder’s and is currently ahead of Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan with 352 rating points.

On the other hand, Axar Patel’s performance in the Test series against England lifted him eight places to 30th with 552 rating points. Only two bowlers have achieved more points after their first three Tests- former India leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani (564) and Australian fast bowler Charlie Turner (553).