ICC Rankings Shake-Up: Jansen and Abhishek Sharma Take the Top Spots

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-29

So, the ICC rankings got a fresh update on Wednesday, and let me tell you, there's been some serious movement at the top. South Africa's Marco Jansen has climbed to No. 1 in Test bowling, while India's Abhishek Sharma is back on top of the T20I batting charts. And if that's not enough, Jansen also snatched the all-rounder crown from Ravindra Jadeja. Let's break it down. ### Marco Jansen: The New King of Test Bowling Jansen's rise has been nothing short of spectacular. In the second Test against Australia in Gqeberha, he took 5 for 33, helping bowl the visitors out for just 99 in their first innings. Oh, and he also scored a handy 85 from No. 8 earlier in the match. South Africa won that game to level the series, and Jansen's ten wickets across the first two Tests have been crucial. Now he sits at the top of the Test bowling rankings with 876 rating points. Mitchell Starc has dropped to second, and the likes of Matt Henry, Ollie Robinson, and Jasprit Bumrah each fell one place. Bumrah is fifth with 853 points. But here's the thing: Starc has already taken six wickets in the ongoing third Test, so the order at the top could change again before the series is done. It's that tight. ### Jansen Ends Jadeja's Four-Year Reign In the all-rounder table, Jansen moved up from second to first, ending Ravindra Jadeja's remarkable run of more than four years at the top. That's a big deal. Jansen also jumped 13 places in the Test batting rankings to 56th, and his teammate Simon Harmer climbed 15 spots to eighth among all-rounders. South Africa's depth is looking scary good right now. ### Abhishek Sharma's Blazing Return to No. 1 Over in T20Is, Abhishek Sharma reminded everyone why he's one of the most destructive batters in the game. He smashed 113 off just 38 balls in the third T20I against New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday. India chased down 199 with six wickets in hand, taking a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. His century came off 35 balls—absolute carnage. That innings lifted him to 897 rating points and pushed him past his India teammate Ishan Kishan, who had taken the top spot in July. Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan is second with 883 points, while Kishan has slipped to third with 866 after an injury kept him out of the second and third T20Is. India captain Shreyas Iyer fell five places to ninth with 758 points. > "I just tried to play my shots and back my instincts," Abhishek said after the match. "The wicket was good, and I'm glad it came off." ### Other Big Movers in the Rankings - **Temba Bavuma** moved up four places to second in the Test batting rankings, behind only Harry Brook. Bavuma scored 179 in the first innings of the second Test and was named Player of the Match. - **Scott Boland** gained three places to reach sixth among Test bowlers. - **Harry Brook** also rose six places in the ODI batting rankings after his stunning 202 against Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-series in Pakistan. - **Shaheen Shah Afridi** went up two places to sixth in the ODI bowling list, while **Azmatullah Omarzai** climbed 13 places to seventh after his performances in the UAE tri-series. - In the women's rankings, South Africa captain **Laura Wolvaardt** took the No. 1 spot in ODI batting from India's Smriti Mandhana, who is now second. Mandhana is fourth in the women's T20I batting list, one place behind her Indian teammate Shafali Verma in third. So there you have it—a rankings update that's shaken things up across formats. Jansen and Abhishek Sharma are the headline acts, but there are plenty of other stories brewing. One thing's for sure: the race for the top spots is tighter than ever.