ICC Test Rankings: Jasprit Bumrah replaces R Ashwin as No.1 bowler

ICC Rankings: India pacer Jasprit Bumrah replaced R Ashwin as the No.1 bowler in Test cricket on Wednesday, October 2. Bumrah reached the top spot after a sensational series against Bangladesh where he picked up 11 wickets.

In Short

• Jasprit Bumrah becomes No. 1 Test bowler after Bangladesh series
• Bumrah replaces R Ashwin in ICC Test rankings
• Bumrah is the first ever India pacer to be ranked No. 1 in Tests

India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah replaced Ravichandran Ashwin as the top-ranked Test bowler in the world on Wednesday, October 2. Bumrah climbed one spot in the ranking list on the back of his sensational performance against Bangladesh in the 2-match Test series.

Bumrah bowled 49 overs across 2 Tests and picked up 11 wickets, the joint-highest alongside Ashwin. Bumrah's bowling average - a mere 12.82, was however much better than the veteran India spinner.

Jasprit Bumrah had originally attained the top spot back in February 2024, during the India vs England Test series, once against by replacing R Ashwin. Back then, Bumrah had climbed three places to be ranked No. 1. He had become the first ever India pacer to be crowned as the top Test bowler. Before Bumrah Kapil Dev was the highest ranked India pacer on the retrospective Test bowlers' table. The former India captain was placed in the second spot between December 1979 to February 1980.

Apart from Bumrah, Zaheer Khan has also occupied the No. 3 spot, in October-November 2010.

R Ashwin himself had a stellar series with the ball. The spinner grabbed 11 wickets and scored a century against Bangladesh in the 2-match series. Ashwin is only one point behind Bumrah in the Test bowlers' list and is expected to give the pacer a steep competition in the upcoming months with India scheduled to play New Zealand at home and then Australia away.

Bumrah is currently the highest wicket-taker in Tests this year. Since the start of 2024, Bumrah has picked up 38 wickets at a strike-rate of 14.42. Alongside Bumrah, Sri Lanka spinner Prabath Jayasuriya has 38 wickets but he has a much higher strike-rate than the India speedster.

Bumrah spoke about the long Test season after the Bangladesh series and hoped to play all of India's remaining Test matches this season. India will play 3 Tests against New Zealand and then play the flagship 5-Test series against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.