In the recent cricket clashes between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney and Cape Town, the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Player Rankings witnessed significant shifts, particularly in the bowling department.
During the intense match at Newlands, fast bowlers from India and South Africa made notable advancements in the rankings. Jasprit Bumrah claimed the fourth spot (787), surpassing Ravindra Jadeja.
Mohammed Siraj’s impressive performance, securing figures of 6/15 and 1/31, propelled him 13 places up to a career-high 17th (661). Lungi Ngidi climbed nine spots to 28th after his three-wicket display in the first innings.
Despite Kagiso Rabada’s four-wicket performance, Pat Cummins stormed past him to secure the second position on the rankings list (858). Cummins, Australia’s captain, concluded the series against Pakistan with a stellar performance, taking six wickets in just 25 overs.
Josh Hazlewood also made a significant move, claiming five wickets and jumping from 11th to a tie for seventh (761) with James Anderson. Nathan Lyon moved to 11th (742), nine points ahead of Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi.
In the batting department, challenging conditions resulted in several batters making notable moves in the rankings. Marnus Labuschagne’s scores of 60 and 62* propelled him three spots up to fourth (802), while Mohammad Rizwan’s knocks of 88 and 28 led to a 10-spot jump to 17th.
Aiden Markram’s impressive second-innings century at Newlands resulted in a nine-spot climb, entering the top 20 (667). On the other side, Virat Kohli (775) and Rohit Sharma (748) moved to sixth and 10th, respectively.
In Sri Lanka’s ODI matches against Zimbabwe, spinner Maheesh Theekshana reached a career-high rating (634) and rank (11th) with four wickets. Richard Ngarava’s seven-wicket haul propelled him 23 spots to a career-high rating of 634.
Charith Asalanka entered the top 20 on the batting side with 101 runs, while Craig Ervine moved up a dozen places with his 82.
On the T20 front, the UAE vs. Afghanistan series witnessed minor shuffles. Naveen-ul-Haq’s 4/20 helped him climb nine spots into the top 50, and UAE’s Ali Naseer entered the top 50 for all-rounders, rising five spots to 46.
