ICC releases latest player rankings as Joe Root regains top Test batting spot

DUBAI: The ICC has issued the new players’ rankings, with England‘s Joe Root getting back to the first spot in the Test batsmen’s rankings.

Root gained two places to reclaim the number one spot in the Test batsman rankings, with Harry Brook dropping one place to take the number two rank. Travis Head also dropped one place to be at the number three spot in the rankings.

The other notable climbers include New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra, who climbed two places to 10th spot, while Daryl Mitchell leaped five places to be ranked at 16th.

Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan lost one place to be at 19th place, while Babar Azam is ranked 20th. Saud Shakeel improved by two ranks to 22nd place.

Glenn Phillips of New Zealand climbed eight ranks to 31st place, while Henry Nicholls made a climb of 13 places to 40th in the Test batsman rankings.

In the Test bowling rankings, Matt Henry of New Zealand climbed six ranks to claim the top spot in the world’s Test bowlers’ rankings.

Henry and Jasprit Bumrah of India are equally rated at 870 points, although Bumrah had been at the top since November 2024.

Ravindra Jadeja of India held his ground to remain at number one in the Test all-rounders rankings.

In ODI cricket, Daryl Mitchell of New Zealand kept his position at number one as the best ODI batsman. Shubman Gill of India rose three spots to remain second, while Virat Kohli dropped one spot to stay third. Babar Azam of Pakistan maintained his sixth position.

In the ODI bowling rankings, Rashid Khan of Afghanistan continued to hold the first position. Abrar Ahmed of Pakistan was placed second, whereas Shaheen Shah Afridi remained ninth in the list.

Arshdeep Singh of India made a remarkable improvement by climbing up 16 ranks to occupy 22nd place, whereas Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh rose two ranks to 23rd place.

In the ODI all-rounders rankings, Azmatullah Omarzai of Afghanistan stayed in the top position. Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe occupied the second position, whereas Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh climbed one rank to third place.

The new rankings show several changes in the performances of the top players of England, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.