Joe Root topples Harry Brook to reclaim No 1 spot in ICC Test batting rankings

Joe Root reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings after his scores of 104 and 40 in the third Test against India at Lord’s helped England to a thrilling 22-run win.

Pakistan batters Saud Shakeel and Saim Ayub also made notable progress in the rankings. 

Root, who has 888 rating points, displaced teammate Harry Brook to take the top spot in the rankings.

Harry Brook has been dropped to third while New Zealand’s Kane Williamson now occupies second place.

Australia’s Steve Smith moved up one spot to fourth in the rankings after his gritty knock of 48 in the third Test against West Indies in Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Cameron Green climbed 16 spots to 29th in the rankings following scores of 46 and 42 in the low-scoring contest against the Windies.

Among Indians in the top 10, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant fell one spot each to sit fifth and eighth, respectively, in the list for Test batters.

India skipper Shubman Gill dropped three spots to sit ninth after a disappointing outing at Lord’s against England.

Saud Shakeel has moved up one spot to 12th in the Test batting rankings, now holding 739 rating points. 

Saim Ayub, meanwhile, has broken into the rankings at joint-83rd alongside South Africa’s Marco Jansen, with both having 352 points. Aamer Jamal also shares the same position.

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have retained their respective 21st and 23rd positions, while all-rounder Salman Ali Agha has dropped three places to 37th. 

Test captain Shan Masood holds firm at 48th, with Abdullah Shafique climbing one spot to 51st with 520 points. Middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam remains at 76th.

In the Test bowling rankings, spinner Noman Ali retains his fifth-place spot with 806 points. However, Sajid Khan has dropped one position to 20th, while Shaheen Afridi has slipped to 21st. 

Mohammad Abbas remains steady at 27th, followed by Naseem Shah at 35th and Abrar Ahmed at 50th.

Fast bowler Khurram Shahzad sits at 64th, while Aamer Jamal has dropped one spot to 72nd. Mir Hamza holds the 93rd position, Agha Salman is at 95th, and Zahid Mahmood rounds out the list at 97th.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah continues to lead the Test bowling rankings, followed by South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada in second and Australia’s Pat Cummins in third.

In the ICC Test all-rounders rankings, Noman Ali has fallen two places to 22nd, Sajid Khan is down one spot to 31st, and Agha Salman sits at 33rd. 

Aamer Jamal has dropped two places to 42nd, while Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah remain at 55th and 75th, respectively. Mohammad Abbas holds the 80th position.

India’s Ravindra Jadeja retains his top spot among Test all-rounders, with Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz in second and South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder in third.

 Australia pacer Scott Boland gained a whopping six places to climb to the sixth spot after picking a hat-trick during the pink-ball Test against West Indies in Jamaica. Mitchell Starc remained in the 10th spot despite his seven-wicket haul in Jamaica, which included a record-breaking fifer.

Boland’s rise means Australia now has five players in the top 10 list of the world’s best Test bowlers, with skipper Pat Cummins (third), Josh Hazlewood (fifth), and Nathan Lyon (eighth).

West Indies pacers Shamar Joseph (14th), Justin Greaves (65th), and Alzarri Joseph (29th) also made significant gains in the bowlers’ rankings.