Jasprit Bumrah became the only bowler in history to hold the top place in all three formats at some stage during his career.
‘Mentality Monster’ Jasprit Bumrah has reached new heights in world cricket, rising to the top of the ICC Test bowling rankings. Bumrah dethroned Ravichandran Ashwin to claim the top place. In the process, the superstar pacer became the first bowler in game history to hold the No. 1 rank in all three forms at some time throughout his career. While three hitters have achieved this, no bowler has done so before Bumrah.
Cricket in the present period has become a batter’s paradise, with field limits growing more difficult and bowlers being penalized for even little errors in an era of entertainment. However, in a sport where batsmen frequently make headlines, Bumrah became the infiltrator who achieved a something that no bowler has ever accomplished before.
Virat Kohli is the only Indian batsman who has previously held the top spot in the ICC rankings in all three forms. Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, both from Australia, are the other two batters to accomplish this feat. In fact, Ponting is the only player who has topped the rankings in all three formats at the same time.
What distinguishes Bumrah is that no bowler has come close to creating such brilliance in all three versions of the game. Though one could argue that Glenn McGrath, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and others did not get to play in the T20 era, what Bumrah is accomplishing at a time when cricket has become so demanding demonstrates the level of effort he has put into himself to be this flexible.
As Bumrah climbed to the top of the ICC Test rankings, the entire cricket world bowed, including those who had been condemning him for some time. The seasoned pacer expressed his thoughts on the subject.
ICC Test Rankings: Jasprit Bumrah’s Ascent to the Top
The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the current Test rankings, which included Bumrah on the elite list after he delivered mind-boggling figures of 9/91 during India’s series-levelling victory in the second Test at Vizag.
Bumrah was ranked third before the match and jumped to first place, surpassing Ravichandran Ashwin, who had held the top spot since March of last year.
Before reaching the peak, the 30-year-old Bumrah had never made it past the second slot in the Test rankings, courtesy to India’s spin-dominant wickets. However, he recently recorded two 5-wicket hauls.
Those fifers occurred in 2024, with the first coming against South Africa in Cape Town in January, where he claimed 6/61, and the second in Vizag, where he produced numbers of 6/45 in his current match against England.
When it comes to Test cricket in India, the prospects of bowlers developing as elite wicket-takers are slim. With 9 wickets in the Vizag Test, Bumrah not only finished the match as the leading wicket-taker, but also won the player of the match award.
Thanks to his heroics, the star pacer became the first fast bowler from his country to be named the world’s No. 1 Test bowler. Spinners such as R Ashwin, Bishen Singh Bedi, and Anil Kumble have already accomplished this feat.
