NEW DELHI: The New Year brings a silver lining for fiery pacer Jasprit Bumrah amid the Border-Gavaskar Trophy gloom. He achieved the highest rating points ever by an Indian bowler, solidifying his position at the top of the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings after an exceptional nine-wicket haul in the fourth Test in Melbourne.
With 907 rating points, Bumrah surpassed his previous best of 904, which he shared with Ravichandran Ashwin.He now shares the 17th position on the all-time list with England’s former spinner Derek Underwood.

The ICC has also shortlisted India’s pace spearhead for both the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and the Test Cricketer of the Year award.
English bowlers Sydney Barnes (932) and George Lohmann (931) from over a century ago lead the all-time rankings, followed by Imran Khan (922) and Muttiah Muralitharan (920) in third and fourth positions.
Australian captain Pat Cummins, sharing fifth place with Glenn McGrath at 914 points, has improved his standing in the latest rankings issued on Wednesday after their victory against India in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

The first update of 2025, incorporating performances from South Africa versus Pakistan in Centurion and Zimbabwe versus Afghanistan in Bulawayo, shows Cummins reaching his career-best third position as an all-rounder, improving from his previous best of fifth in August 2019.
Cummins’ batting performances of 49 and 41 have elevated him to 97th among batters, while his bowling figures have maintained his third position with 837 rating points.
Lanky Proteas paceman Marco Jansen has reached fifth position after claiming six wickets for 52 runs, while Mohammad Abbas has re-entered at 23rd position. Other notable progressions include Naseem Shah, Dane Paterson, Scott Boland, and Brian Bennett in the bowling rankings.
In batting rankings, Saud Shakeel has reached sixth position after scoring 84. Steve Smith has moved to seventh following his 140, while Yashaswi Jaiswal has achieved fourth position with 854 rating points.

Aiden Markram’s outstanding performance has placed him 16th, while Nitish Kumar Reddy has advanced to 53rd position. Sean Williams has reached 19th place with 653 points, setting a new benchmark for Zimbabwe since 2014.
Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi have achieved their country’s highest individual scores, advancing to 52nd and 57th positions respectively.