'Mentality Monster' Jasprit Bumrah reached new heights in world cricket as he scaled the No. 1 position in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. Bumrah dethroned his own teammate Ravichandran Ashwin to make the top spot his own. In the process, the marquee pacer also became the first bowler in the history of the game to have claimed the No. 1 spot in all three formats of the game at some point in his career. While a total of three players have done so in rankings for batters, no bowler had ever managed to do so before Bumrah.
Jasprit Bumrah's Rise To No. 1 Spot In ICC Test Rankings
The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued the latest Test rankings which saw Bumrah join this elite list after he produced mind-boggling figures of 9/91 during India's series-levelling victory in the second Test at Vizag.
Bumrah was at the no. 3 spot before the match began and moved to the top of the rankings, leaving behind Ravichandran Ashwin who had occupied the top spot since March last year.
Before reaching the summit, the 30-year-old Bumrah had never even managed to claim the No. 2 spot in Test ranking charts, all thanks to India's spin-dominant pitches. But, recently he bagged two 5-wicket-hauls.
Those fifers came in 2024, with the first one came against South Africa in Cape Town in January, where he claimed 6/61 and the second one in Vizag when he produced figures of 6/45 in his recent appearance against England.
Jasprit Bumrah, Truly Limitless
Whenever a Test match in India is being talked about, the chances of bowlers emerging as top wicket-takers remain close to none. Bumrah, with his 9 wickets in the Vizag Test, didn't just finish the match as the top wicket-taker but also grabbed the player of the match award.
Courtesy of his heroics, the star pacer became the first fast bowler from the country to be crowned No. 1 Test bowler in the world. When it comes to spinners, the likes of R Ashwin, Bishen Singh Bedi and Anil Kumble had achieved the feat before.