ICC Test Rankings: Ashwin maintains top spot in bowlers; Root dethrones Labuschagne as World No.1 batter

In the latest ICC Test rankings, which were revealed on Wednesday, veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has maintained his position at the top among bowlers, while England's Joe Root toppled Australia's Marnus Labuschagne to take the top spot among batters. Ashwin, who was ignored for the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month in London, remained the world No 1 bowler with 860 points, followed by England pacer James Anderson.

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With no change in their rankings, Indian bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (772) and Ravindra Jadeja (765) held down the eighth and ninth spots, respectively. Virat Kohli, the centre of India's batting lineup, dropped one spot to take up position 14, while Rohit Sharma, the captain, was put in position 12.

Cheteshwar Pujara remained at the 25th position whereas Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer out of action for a while now moved up one place each to get to the 36th and 37th spots respectively.

The only Indian to appear in the top 10 is wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who holds the last slot. 

The major shift occurred at the top of the hitters' rankings, where Root rose five spots to unseat Labuschagne. A day after Australia won the Edgbaston Test and took a 1-0 lead in the ongoing Ashes series by narrowly defeating England by two wickets in an exciting finale.

The decision to declare England's first innings of 393 for eight, in which Root scored an unbeaten 118, was hotly contested following their defeat in the first Ashes Test, but Labuschagne failed to leave a lasting impression with the bat in either innings.

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During the first Ashes Test in Birmingham, Root managed scores of 118 not out and 46 in a losing effort, and those outstanding individual performances saw the 32-year-old leap a huge five places and restore his position as the No. 1 ranked Test batter in the world.

Due to his 0 and 13 against England, Labuschagne fell to third overall, and veteran Kiwi Kane Williamson moved up two spots to second.

Just 26 rating points now separate the top six players in what is one of the closest competitions recently seen. Fellow Australians Steve Smith (down four ranks to sixth) and Travis Head (down one slot to fourth) also lose ground in the fight to become the No. 1 Test batter.

Kagiso Rabada of South Africa surpassed Australia's Pat Cummins (824) to take third place among bowlers with 825 points.

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