Pant Achieves Career-Best Ranking, Sundar & Ashwin Make Gains

Captain Virat Kohli’s at his lowest points tally since November 2017.

Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar share a light moment during their partnership on Day 2 of the fourth Test against England.

Image: BCCI

India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant’s brilliant form in the recently concluded Test series against England has seen him break into the top ten rankings for batsmen. Pant is now at a career-best ranking of seventh after his century in the fourth Test. Ravichandran Ashwin rose to the second-spot in the bowlers' rankings.

Pant has moved up seven slots and shares seventh place with compatriot Rohit Sharma, who has gained one spot, and Henry Nicholls of New Zealand.

Pant’s 747 rating points are the joint-15th highest by any India batsman, and the highest by a full-time Test wicketkeeper from his country.

All-rounder Washington Sundar, who also played a crucial role in India’s passage to the final of the ICC World Test Championship, has jumped 39 places and is in 62nd position, thanks to his 96 not out, but captain Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara had below-par series.

Kohli is at his lowest points tally since November 2017 and Pujara is under 700 points for the first time since September 2016.

There was no surprise in the rankings reflecting kindly on spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, who ripped through the England innings time and again during the series.

Ashwin, the player of the series, has leapfrogged New Zealand’s Neil Wagner to the second position among bowlers, the first time since August 2017, after finishing with eight wickets in the match. He is also ranked fourth among all-rounders, now ahead of Shakib Al Hasan.

Patel’s nine wickets have 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 Australia fast bowler Charlie Turner (553) who played in the 19th century.

For England, Dan Lawrence has moved up 47 places to 93rd among batsmen with scores of 46 and 50 and James Anderson has moved up two places to fourth position after his haul of three for 44 in Ahmedabad.