India spinner Ravi Bishnoi claims top ICC T20I player ranking

Dubai: India spinner Ravi Bishnoi has continued his remarkable recent rise by becoming the No.1 bowler on the latest ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings.

Bishnoi only made his international debut at the start of last year, but some consistent performances for his country has seen the 23-year-old rise four spots on the updated rankings to claim the premier position.

The right-armer was recently named Player of the Series during India's successful 4-1 series triumph over Australia on home soil and has picked up a total of 34 wickets from 21 T20I matches since debuting against the West Indies in February 2022.

Bishnoi's rise to the top has not been unexpected, with the leg-spinner first catching the eye in South Africa at the ICC Men's Under 19 Cricket World Cup in 2020 when he finished the tournament with the most wickets (17) of all players as India finished as runners up behind fellow Asian side Bangladesh, an ICC report on Wednesday said.

While often stuck behind the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin for the slow bowling spots in India's star-studded line-up, Bishnoi has always performed with aplomb when given the opportunity to perform and his economy rate of 7.14 is among the best for the current crop of Indian bowlers.

With Bishnoi's jump to the top it means Rashid Khan (second), Adil Rashid (equal third), Wanindu Hasaranga (equal third) and Maheesh Theekshana (fifth) all drop one spot inside the top 10, while fellow India spinner Axar Patel rises 16 places to 11th.

The biggest movers on the latest T20I rankings for batters sees India youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal soar up 16 places to 19th behind top-ranked teammate Suryakumar Yadav and Australia counterpart Travis Head improves 16 places to 29th after the pair performed admirably during their recent series on the sub-continent.

There was also some movement on the latest Test rankings after the completion of the opening Test between Bangladesh and New Zealand, with Kiwi Daryl Mitchell rising one place to seventh inside the top on the list for batters after scores of 41 and 58 in Sylhet.

Compatriot Kane Williamson remains the top-ranked Test batter, while Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto jumps 13 places to 42nd after his superb century in the second innings against the Black Caps.

The top 10 for Test bowlers remains unchanged behind first-placed Ashwin, although towering New Zealand pacer Kyle Jamieson re-enters the rankings at No.13 following his return to red-ball cricket and Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam jumps four places to a career-best 14th after his 10-wicket haul and Player of the Match heroics against the Kiwis.

Taijul's total of 708 rating points is the highest-ever by a Bangladesh bowler, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan’s 705 achieved in August 2017.

India opener Shubman Gill (batting) and South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj (bowling) remain in the top position of the ODI rankings, although there were a few changes following the opening game of the series between the West Indies and England in the Caribbean.

West Indies skipper Shai Hope improves four places to 11th on the list for ODI batters after he scored his 16th ODI century in Antigua, while teammate Brandon King jumps six spots to 78th. (UNI)