Mitchell Starc Reclaims ICC Test Bowling Crown: Shreyas Iyer Climbs T20I Rankings

Starc's Stellar Performance in Cape Town

Dubai: Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc has regained the top position in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings following an outstanding display against South Africa. Meanwhile, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer has ascended two spots to seventh in the latest T20I rankings released on Wednesday.

Starc's impressive performance, which included nine wickets in the final Test of the series in Cape Town, allowed him to surpass South Africa's Marco Jansen. With a new career-high rating of 881, Starc has reclaimed the No.1 ranking.

Initially, Starc reached the top of the rankings in August, dethroning India's Jasprit Bumrah. However, Jansen took the lead after his six-wicket haul in the second Test at Gqeberha. In the Cape Town match, Jansen managed only three wickets, paving the way for Starc's return to the top.

In addition, South Africa's Simon Harmer made significant strides in the latest update, thanks to his match-winning performance at Newlands, where he took six wickets in Australia's second innings. This effort propelled him nine places up to seventh, placing him just ahead of teammate Kagiso Rabada.

Despite losing his top spot among Test bowlers, Jansen solidified his position as the leading Test all-rounder, achieving a career-high rating after scoring a half-century in the third Test. Wiaan Mulder moved up one spot to third, while Harmer climbed three positions to fifth in the all-rounders' rankings.

In the Test batting rankings, Aiden Markram rose to 11th, while Mulder jumped seven places to 17th. Ryan Rickelton made the most significant leap among South African batters, climbing 25 spots to 23rd and achieving a career-best rating.

Australia's Cameron Green and Alex Carey also improved their standings, moving up three and two places, respectively, to share the 19th position. West Indies batter Justin Greaves climbed 12 places to joint 38th after his team's eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first Test in Mirpur.

West Indies bowlers Jomel Warrican and Roston Chase also saw improvements, moving to 30th in the Test bowling rankings and joint 23rd among all-rounders, respectively.

In ODI bowling, Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf made notable advancements following the conclusion of the tri-series at home. Afridi moved up to fifth, while Rauf gained five positions to reach 24th.

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman climbed nine places to 37th in the ODI batting rankings. England's Ben Duckett moved up one spot to sixth, while Sri Lanka's Pavan Rathnayake made a remarkable jump of 20 places to 16th.

In T20I rankings, Iyer's rise to seventh in the batting list followed India's series victory in New Zealand. New Zealand's Glenn Phillips also gained 13 places to reach 24th among T20I batters.

Among T20I bowlers, New Zealand's Mitchell Santner climbed two spots to fifth, while teammate Jacob Duffy made a significant leap of 23 positions to 23rd.

Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai also improved his ranking, moving up three places to third in the T20I all-rounders' list after being named Player of the Series in his team's recent series win over Zimbabwe in the UAE.