Joe Root extends lead at top of ICC Test rankings

(Web Desk) – England veteran Joe Root has increased his lead at the top of the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings issued on Wednesday.

Root increased his lead at the top of the rankings for Test batters following his innings of 150 at Old Trafford where he overtook Australian legend Ricky Ponting and became the second highest run-scorer in Test cricket.

India wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant also made some ground inside the top 10 as he moved up one place to seventh on the back of his half-century in Manchester despite battling injury, with teammate Yashasvi Jaiswal dropping three spots to eighth.

Stokes also gained three place to jump to third on the rankings for Test all-rounders, while the top 10 in the list for Test bowlers remains unchanged as India pacer Jasprit Bumrah holds on to his lead as the No.1 ranked Test bowler.

Meanwhile, Indian player Abhishek joins Virat Kohli and Suryakumar and has become just the third Indian player to hold the No.1 spot on the rankings for T20I batters as Australia's Travis Head relinquished the premier position for the first time in more than a year.

While Head dropped to second on the updated rankings for T20I batters, a big group of his Australian teammates were rewarded with large gains following an impressive 5-0 sweep over the West Indies away from home in the recent five-match series.

Right-hander Josh Inglis improved six places to jump to ninth for T20I batters, Tim David gained 12 spots to move to 28th, while Cameron Green climbed a whopping 64 spots to go to 24th following his 205 runs across the five matches and Player of the Series heroics.

India's Shubman Gill continues to lead the ICC Men's ODI Batting Rankings, maintaining his No. 1 position. Pakistan's Babar Azam retained his second place.

Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka has climbed two spots to reach sixth position, while his teammate Kusal Mendis made a major leap of ten places to enter the top 10 at No. 10.

On the bowling side, Sri Lanka's Maheesh Theekshana remains the No. 1 ranked ODI bowler. Fellow countryman Wanindu Hasaranga surged 11 places to claim the eighth spot.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi dropped one position and now ranks 12th.

Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have both dropped in the rankings. Babar now sits at No. 14, while Rizwan is at No. 16 after falling two spots.