England’s Harry Brook has surged to the top of the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, overtaking teammate Joe Root to claim the top batter spot. This elevation comes following his stellar 158-run knock in the first innings of the second Test against India at Edgbaston. Root, now 18 rating points behind, slipped to second place. India’s captain Shubman Gill made a remarkable leap, climbing 15 spots to a career-best sixth position after scoring 269 and 161 in the same Test, marking his first win as captain. 

Gill trails Brook by just 79 rating points, with only Root, Kane Williamson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Steve Smith ahead of him. England’s Jamie Smith also shone brightly, jumping 16 places to enter the top 10 at No. 10, thanks to his unbeaten 184 and 88 in Birmingham. On the bowling front, India’s Jasprit Bumrah retained his No 1 Test bowler ranking despite sitting out the Edgbaston Test for workload management.

Mohammed Siraj climbed six spots to 22nd, while West Indies’ Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph rose to 29th and 31st, respectively. In the ODI rankings, Sri Lanka’s Charith Asalanka advanced two places to sixth among batters after guiding his team to a 2-1 series win over Bangladesh. Kusal Mendis, named Player of the Series, soared 10 spots to 10th. Pakistan’s Babar Azam held steady at No 2 in the ODI batters’ rankings, just behind top-ranked Shubman Gill.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)