Jansen becomes top-ranked Test bowler, Abhishek takes back crown for T20I batters
Temba Bavuma, Scott Boland, Harry Brook, Simon Harmer, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Azmatullah Omarzai are among the gainers in the latest ICC ranking updates
Cricinfo staff
Published: Oct 28, 2026, 9:23 AM (1 hr ago)
Marco Jansen picked up a five-for after scoring 85 in the second Test • Associated Press
South Africa's Marco Jansen has become the top-ranked bowler and allrounder in Test cricket, while India's Abhishek Sharma has climbed to the top spot for T20I batters, going past team-mate Ishan Kishan in the latest ICC rankings update.
Jansen has had a great time in the ongoing Test series between South Africa and Australia, picking up ten wickets across the first two Tests and scoring useful runs. In the second Test, which South Africa won, he was a standout performer, picking up 5 for 33 to skittle Australia for 99 in the first innings after scoring 85 from No. 8.
The rise was steep. Mitchell Starc, Matt Henry, Ollie Robinson and Jasprit Bumrah all moved down a spot each as Jansen got to the top with 876 points. Starc has, however, got a six-for of his own in the ongoing third Test, and depending on how things go in the rest of the Test, the top two could change as quickly again.
The rise in the allrounders' rankings was less dramatic, as Jansen went past Ravindra Jadeja from No. 2 to No. 1. What was dramatic was that Jadeja had held the top spot on that table for more than four years.
Abhishek, meanwhile, had recorded scores of 29 and 27 in the first two T20Is in New Zealand, but upped the ante in the third game, smashing 113 in 38 balls as India chased down 199 to make it 3-0 in the five-match series. With Kishan out after the first match with an injury, the coast was clear for Abhishek to get back to the top of the rankings. Kishan had moved past Abhishek to the top spot in July.
Other major gainers from the South Africa vs Australia Test series include Temba Bavuma, who was the Player of the Match in the second Test for his spectacular first-innings 179. That took him up four spots on the Test batters' table to No. 2, only behind Harry Brook. Brook, meanwhile, rose six spots on the ODI batters' table following his 202 against Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-series in Pakistan.
Among Test bowlers, Scott Boland rose three spots to sixth and Simon Harmer went up 15 spots to eighth among allrounders following South Africa's win in the second Test.
And for bowlers in ODIs, Shaheen Shah Afridi is up two spots to No. 6 and Azmatullah Omarzai is up 13 places to seventh following their recent performances in the tri-series in Pakistan and the UAE, respectively.
