Mitchell Starc replaces Jasprit Bumrah as top-ranked Test bowler

Star India pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s stay at the top of the ICC Test rankings for bowlers has come to an end as he was replaced by 36-year-old Australia spearhead Mitchell Starc on Wednesday. Remarkably, this is the first time in Starc’s 15-year Test career that he has taken the top spot in the ICC rankings.

Starc’s rise to the top came after a scintillating performance in Australia’s innings victory against Bangladesh in Mackay in the 2nd Test between the two sides. The pacer took 10 wickets in the match, five of which came in the first four overs itself, as Australia won by an innings and 15 runs. He was ranked third at the start of the Test and jumped past Bumrah and New Zealand’s Matt Henry to take the top spot.

Bumrah drops to second and Henry to third. Starc’s teammate and Australia captain Pat Cummins, meanwhile, has risen to fourth after he took six wickets in the match. Starc has been inside the top 10 of the ICC Test rankings for a majority of his illustrious 15-year career. However, it is only at the age of 36 that he has risen right to the top spot.