Ravichandran Ashwin climbs to World No.2 spot in latest ICC Test rankings for bowlers ahead of IND vs AUS 2nd Test

Indian ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has climbed to the World No.2 spot in the latest ICC Test rankings for bowlers. The development comes as the off-spinner scalped eight wickets, including 5/37, in the first Test against Australia in Nagpur.

After guiding India to an inning and 132-run victory, Ashwin has surged to the No.2 spot, only 21 rating points behind Australian captain Pat Cummins. The 36-year-old will look to become the world's No.1 Test bowler during the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja, who shone on his Team India comeback with seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul and 70 run-knock has retained his No.1 spot among all-rounders. He also rose to the 16th spot in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers.

Axar Patel leapt six places to break into the top 10 list of all-rounders. He is currently ranked seventh following his crucial 84-run knock in the opening Test.

Jasprit Bumrah retained his spot at No.5 despite his lengthy injury layoff since September last year.

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Rohit Sharma rises to eighth spot in latest ICC Test rankings for batters

India captain Rohit Sharma, who led from the front with a 120-run knock in the first Test against Australia, has risen two spots to eighth in the ICC Test rankings for batters. The right-hander is behind wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant (7th), who has been ruled out of the series due to multiple injuries, among Indian batters.

After registering his ninth ton against the Aussies across formats, Rohit will now look to continue his domination in the Test series.

However, Usman Khawaja has dropped from eighth to 10th after returning with figures of one and five in the opening Test. David Warner also fell six places to 20th following his scores of one and 10. The Aussie openers will look to lead the visitors’ fightback in the second Test.

The two teams will next face off at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, starting on Friday, February 17. Another victory for Team India will help them retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.