Off-spinner Ravichandran AshwinA� dethrones A�Pakistani leg-spinner A�Yasir Shah as he reclaims top spot in bowlers’ rankings after Antigua test.
The 29-year-old off-spinnerA�has climbedA�to the top spot of the MRF ICC Player Rankings for Test BowlersA�after a superb outing in the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua which led visitors to aA�massive victory by an innings and 92 runs.
Ashwin, whoA�was top-ranked in the last year-ending rankings.A�He has not only regained the top spot with aA�fantastic outing in theA�second innings.A�but has also climbed A�up in the batsmena��s rankings with an astonishing A�knock ofA�113 and fortunatelyA�strengthened his grip on the top spot among all-rounders.
After his performance at Antigua,A�Ashwin has replaced Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah,A�who had got that position only last week with a 10-wicket haul in the opening Test against England at Home of cricket.
Yasir, Who onlyA�A�managed to take one wicketA�in theA�second test against England,A�has dropped to fifth place below James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Dale Steyn.
Indian Off-spinnerA�has gained five points following his performance in the Antigua Test, while English pacer AndersonA�has gained seven points. This means the pre-Test gap between the two bowlers has been trimmed from three points to just one point only.
On the contrary, Pakistani leg spinner has lostA�A�46 points and now behind A�number-one ranked Ashwin by 44 points.
English young pacer Chris Woakes has jumped up 10 places to 23rd rank after his match-haul of seven for 108 at Old Trafford which contributed in Englanda��s 330 runs victory that levelled the four-match series 1-1.A�India pace bowlers also climbed up in test rankings as A�Umesh Yadav has gained six places to reach 24th rank with five wickets in Antigua while his new-ball partner Mohammad Shami has returned to the rankings at 28th place.
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen,A�Indian test skipper Virat Kohlia��s 200 is the inningsA�which set the platformA�for Indiaa��s biggest win outside the subcontinent,A�has helped him gain two places to 12th place while Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has jumped four places after a knock of 84.
Ashwin has gainedA�three places to 45th rank among batsmen after his third Test century (113) against the West Indies. The 29-year-old,A�becomes the third Indian cricketer to be ranked at the top among all-rounders after Vinoo Mankad and Kapil Dev as he hasA�A�moved up from 406 points to a career-best 427 points and created a 43-point gap with Shakib, who withA�433 points A�languishing at A�second-placed.
