Jansen Storms to No. 1 as Sharma Reclaims T20I Throne

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-29

Something shifted in the ICC rankings this week, and honestly, it's the kind of shake-up that makes you sit up and pay attention. South Africa's Marco Jansen has climbed to the top of the men's Test bowling rankings, and India's Abhishek Sharma is back where he belongs among T20I batters. Let's break down what happened and why it matters. ### Marco Jansen Takes Over the Test Bowling Charts Jansen didn't just sneak into the No. 1 spot. He earned it. In the second Test against Australia in Gqeberha, he took 5 for 33 and helped bowl the visitors out for just 99 in their first innings. Oh, and he also chipped in with 85 runs batting at No. 8. South Africa won that match to level the series, and Jansen has now grabbed ten wickets across the first two Tests. He sits on 876 rating points in the Test bowling list. Mitchell Starc slipped to second, while Matt Henry, Ollie Robinson, and Jasprit Bumrah each dropped a spot. Bumrah is fifth with 853 points. Here's the thing though: Starc has already taken six wickets in the ongoing third Test, so this race at the top is far from settled. ### A Four-Year Reign Ends In the all-rounder table, Jansen moved from second to first and ended Ravindra Jadeja's remarkable run of more than four years at the top. That's no small feat. Jansen also jumped 13 places in Test batting to rank 56th, and Simon Harmer climbed 15 spots to eighth among all-rounders. ### Abhishek Sharma Is Back on Top Over in Wellington, Abhishek Sharma put on an absolute show. He smashed 113 off just 38 balls in the third T20I against New Zealand, and India chased down 199 to win by six wickets. His century came off only 35 balls. That innings pushed him to 897 rating points and past his India teammate Ishan Kishan, who had claimed the top spot back in July. Pakistan captain Sahibzada Farhan sits second with 883 points. Kishan dropped 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. ### Other Notable Movers - Temba Bavuma rose four places to second in Test batting, behind only Harry Brook, after his 179 in the second Test earned him Player of the Match honors. - Scott Boland gained three places to reach sixth among Test bowlers. - Harry Brook climbed six spots in the ODI batting rankings after scoring 202 against Sri Lanka. - Shaheen Shah Afridi moved up two places to sixth in ODI bowling, while Azmatullah Omarzai jumped 13 places to seventh. - 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 women's T20I batting, one place behind teammate Shafali Verma in third. > "Rankings are a snapshot, not a verdict. The players who stay hungry after reaching No. 1 are the ones who keep it." That's the takeaway here. Jansen and Sharma both reached the summit, but with more cricket on the horizon, holding that position will be the real test. The third Test between South Africa and Australia is still unfolding, and the T20I series isn't over yet. Plenty can change before the next update lands. For anyone tracking form and momentum, these rankings offer a useful window into who's peaking at the right time. And right now, two players are making the most of their moment.