ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Noman Ali has achieved a career-best second position in the ICC Men’s Test Bowling Rankings following his match-winning performance in the first Test against South Africa in Lahore.
Noman moved up four places and now trails India’s top-ranked Jasprit Bumrah by just 29 rating points. His impressive figures of 6 for 112 and 4 for 79 guided Pakistan to a 93-run win, giving them a 1-0 lead in the two-match ICC World Test Championship series.
Historic Milestone for Noman Ali
The 37-year-old spinner has now reached 853 rating points, becoming only the seventh Pakistani bowler to cross the 850-point mark — the first since Yasir Shah achieved the feat in July 2016. Noman’s previous best ranking was fifth, recorded in January earlier this year against the West Indies when he had 806 points.
Shaheen Afridi And Batters Also Rise In Rankings
Pakistan’s pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has also climbed the rankings ladder, moving up three places to 19th position after his four-wicket haul for 33 runs in the second innings.
Among batters, Mohammad Rizwan has advanced four spots to 16th, Babar Azam two places to 22nd, while Salman Agha jumped eight positions to 30th. Imam-ul-Haq re-entered the list at 44th position, reflecting Pakistan’s balanced team progress.
South African Players Make Notable Gains
For South Africa, Ryan Rickelton’s first-innings knock of 71 propelled him into the top 50 for the first time, while Tony de Zorzi’s century pushed him to 54th. Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy, who claimed 11 wickets for 174 runs, rose significantly from 93rd to 55th in the bowling rankings — the best figures by a South African bowler in Pakistan.
ODI and T20I Ranking Movements
In the ODI rankings, Bangladesh’s Towhid Hridoy climbed seven spots to 35th after scoring a half-century against the West Indies. Josh Hazlewood returned to the top 10 bowlers after his 2 for 20 spell against India in Perth, while India’s Mohammad Siraj re-entered the list at 16th. K. L. Rahul also improved one place to 14th in the batting standings.
In T20Is, England’s Phil Salt and Harry Brook made gains after securing a 1-0 series lead in New Zealand. Salt’s 85 helped him retain second position, while Brook’s 78 off 35 balls pushed him to a career-best joint-20th with 598 points. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid, with figures of 4 for 32, rose three spots to third in the bowling rankings.
