Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah achieves historic ICC rankings milestone

Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah has become the first cricketer from his country to enter the top 10 in any category of the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings. He rose to seventh among batters after scoring 173 against Zimbabwe

Dubai: Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah has scripted a piece of history by becoming the first cricketer from his country to break into the top 10 in any category of the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings, rising to seventh among batters following his impressive performance against Zimbabwe in Sharjah.

Rahmat climbed six places after scoring 173 in the opening Test of the two-match series, earning a career-best rating and moving ahead of several established names, including India captain Shubman Gill, South Africa’s Aiden Markram and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis.

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The 33-year-old’s knock was his fifth century in Test cricket and his second of the year. His rise marks another landmark moment for Afghanistan cricket, which has enjoyed a productive period on the international stage. Earlier this month, the team reached its highest-ever position in the ICC Men’s ODI Team Rankings, moving to sixth after winning a tri-series involving Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Zimbabwe’s Craig Ervine was another major beneficiary of the latest Test rankings update. The veteran batter surged nine places to 48th after remaining unbeaten with a double-century in the second innings of the drawn Sharjah Test.

The conclusion of the ICC World Test Championship series between Bangladesh and the West Indies also brought significant movement in the batting rankings. West Indies’ Kavem Hodge climbed 12 places to 52nd, while Bangladesh’s Towhid Hridoy moved into the top 60 at 60th. West Indies batter Amir Jangoo gained 28 places to reach 62nd.

Among bowlers, West Indies spinner Jomel Warrican recorded a career-high rating after his Player of the Series performance against Bangladesh. He moved up 11 places to equal 19th in the Test bowling rankings and climbed four spots to 31st among all-rounders. His teammate Justin Greaves also advanced, moving up one position to share eighth place in the Test all-rounders’ list.

The latest update also brought gains for several players in the ODI rankings following the opening two matches of the India-New Zealand series.

India spinner Axar Patel rose 23 places to 21st among ODI bowlers after taking 2/28 in the second match in Wellington. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh moved up 11 spots to equal 31st following his four-wicket haul in the series opener in Auckland.

Pacer Gurnoor Brar, currently the leading wicket-taker in the series with seven scalps, made one of the biggest jumps, moving from outside the top 100 to 48th in the ODI bowling rankings.

New Zealand seamers Jacob Duffy and Kyle Jamieson also improved their positions, with Duffy climbing eight places to 43rd and Jamieson advancing 24 places to 60th.

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