Shaheen Afridi has been listed among top five test bowlers. Pakistani fast Shaheen Afridi has moved into the top five of the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings for the first time, The Asian Mirror reported.
According to the ICC, Afridi’s seven-wicket haul in Pakistan’s eight-wicket win over Bangladesh was the impetus for his rise in the rankings, with the left-armer having a stellar year across all three forms.
Afridi has climbed three places into the top five, passing James Anderson, Kagiso Rabada, and Neil Wagner, while Pakistan teammate Hasan Ali has also risen thanks to a seven-wicket performance. He is currently 11th, a career best, just outside the top ten.
Babar Azam, the captain, fell to seventh place in the ICC Test player rankings.
Kyle Jamieson of New Zealand moved up six places to ninth in the bowling rankings after his two three-wicket hauls against India in Kanpur. He joins fellow countrymen Tim Southee (3rd) and Neil Wagner (6th).
As Shaheen Afridi has been listed among top five test bowlers, other notable risers in the rankings include India’s Axar Patel (up seven spots to 28th), Ramesh Mendis (up 28 spots to 57th), and Sajid Khan (up 28 spots to 57th) (up 19 spots to 99th).
On the batting side, New Zealand’s Tom Latham joined Karunaratne in making a comeback to the top ten after strong performances against India and the West Indies.
With scores of 147 and 83 in the first Test in Galle, Karunaratne was named Player of the Match, moving him up four places to seventh, just one spot off his career-best sixth position set in August 2019.
Angelo Mathews (up two places to 23rd) and Dinesh Chandimal (up four places to 46th) both improved their positions.
Latham scored half-centuries in both innings of the first Test (95 and 52) to help the Blackcaps avoid a tie, while teammate Will Young’s 89 in the first innings saw him climb 26 places to 77th.
Shreyas Iyer’s Player of the Match performance of 105 and 65 in the Kanpur Test propelled him into 74th place, while opener Shubman Gill (up six places to 66th) and Wriddhiman Saha (up nine places to 99th) also climbed the rankings following half-centuries.
