Senior India off-spinner R Ashwin has become the number 1 ICC men’s Test bowler for the sixth time in his career following his 26-wicket series haul against England. He replaced teammate fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah at the top of the ranking; Bumrah has fallen to second place with Australian Josh Hazlewood joining him at the second spot.
R Ashwin wasn’t at his best in the first three Tests against England, taking 11 wickets, and he dealt with the personal issue of his mother’s health in the third Test. However, his dominance in the last two Tests embodied India’s dominance too: Ashwin took 16 wickets in the last two Tests, including a five-wicket haul each in Ranchi and Dharamsala, as India hammered England 4-1.
R Ashwin took his 500th Test wicket
It was amazing that despite not being at his best for more than half of the series, R Ashwin finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series. This now makes it half-a-dozen times that the champion off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has sat on the top spot in men’s Test bowler’s ranking.
Jasprit Bumrah took 19 wickets in 4 Tests matches – he was rested from the fourth Test – at an average of 16.89. For a fast bowler to be the third-highest wicket-taker in a series in India – after R Ashwin and Tom Hartley – and pick as many wickets as Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, it was an incredible series for Bumrah too.
However, in the other part of the world, Josh Hazlewood took six wickets in Christchurch which has pushed him up to the second spot, equal with Bumrah at 647 ratings. R Ashwin towers over the rest with 870 ratings.
Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav took 19 wickets at an average of 20.15 and was pivotal in India winning the series from 0-1 down to 4-1. He has made a gain of 15 places to a career-best 16th spot.
