ICC Test Rankings: Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill jump 10 places following ton against Bangladesh

Dubai, Dec 21: India batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill made significant gains in the latest ICC Test Rankings for batters following their centuries in the Chattogram Test against Bangladesh.

Pujara and Gill jumped 10 positions each to be 16th and 54th following their match-winning centuries in the second innings.

Pujara-Gill headlined Chattogram Test

Pujara's innings of 90 and 102* in the first Test against Bangladesh last week helped him break into the top 20 with 664 rating points.

Gill - who notched up his maiden Test ton in that game - is 54th with 517 rating points. Shreyas Iyer's first innings 86 has lifted him 11 places to 26th as wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant continues to remain the top-ranked Indian batter at number six.

India Vs Bangladesh 2nd Test: Sher-E-Bangla Stadium Pitch Report, Stats, Record and Dhaka Weather Forecast

Skipper Rohit Sharma, who missed the opening Test due to a thumb injury, is number nine while the talismanic Virat Kohli moved a spot to 12th.

Axar-Kuldeep make huge gains

India all-rounder Axar Patel and spinner Kuldeep Yadav have registered a significant jump in their latest ICC Test rankings released on Wednesday (December 21).

Patel jumped 20 places to achieve his career-best 18th position while Kuldeep catapulted 19 spots to reach 49 in the latest Test Rankings for bowlers.

Kuldeep, who made his comeback to the Test side after a gap of 18 months, made an immediate impact in the game and was awarded the Player of the Match for his eight for 113 in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram.

Four key takeaways from India's magnificent win over Bangladesh

With his performance in the opening game, which carried ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points, Kuldeep has now earned 455 rating points.
Axar, who claimed five wickets in the match, has 650 points as he broke into the top 20.

Meanwhile, the injured Jasprit Bumrah (4th) and Ravichandran Ashwin (5th) continued their stay in the top five.

Babar Azam attains career-best position

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has attained a career-best second position after notching two half-centuries in the final Test series against England in Karachi.

Babar's knocks of 78 and 54 have helped him overtake Steve Smith, who managed 36 and six in a low-scoring game between Australia and South Africa in Brisbane. Babar, who is ranked first in ODIs and fourth in T20Is, trails Marnus Labuschagne by 61 points in the Test rankings.

Australia batter Travis Head, whose first innings score of 92 was the highest in the Brisbane Test, has gained three slots to reach a career-best fourth position as he crosses the 800-rating point mark for the first time in his career. His previous best was the fifth position in January this year.

England captain Ben Stokes (up places to 23rd), South Africa's Temba Bavuma (up eight places to 24th) and Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan (up four places to 37th) are some others to move up the batters' list.

England's Harry Brook is in the top 50 for the first time after scoring centuries in all three Tests in Pakistan. In the bowlers' rankings, South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada has gained four spots to reach the third position after grabbing four wickets in each innings at Gabba.

Rabada, a formerly top-ranked bowler, was third in August this year before slipping down the table. Australia's six-wicket win saw them consolidate their position at the top of the WTC table with India in second place.

(With PTI inputs)