Marco Jansen Just Took the No. 1 Spot—and Jadeja's Four-Year Reign Is Over

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-29

South Africa's Marco Jansen has climbed to the top of the ICC men's Test bowling rankings. India's Abhishek Sharma, meanwhile, is back at No. 1 among T20I batters. Both moves came in the update released on Wednesday. But here's the part that really caught my eye: Jansen also knocked Ravindra Jadeja off the top of the Test all-rounder table. Jadeja had been sitting there for more than four years. Four years! That's not a hot streak. That's a dynasty. ### How Jansen Got There Jansen's rise wasn't built on one lucky spell. In the second Test against Australia in Gqeberha, he took 5 for 33, and South Africa rolled the visitors for just 99 in the first innings. Earlier in that same match, he'd scored 85 batting at No. 8. South Africa won and leveled the series. Across the first two Tests, he's collected ten wickets. That consistency is what pushed him to 876 rating points in the Test bowling list. - Mitchell Starc slipped to second - Matt Henry, Ollie Robinson, and Jasprit Bumrah each dropped one place - Bumrah now sits fifth with 853 points One thing worth watching: Starc has already taken six wickets in the ongoing third Test. So the top of that list could shuffle again before the series wraps up. Rankings are funny that way—they reward the hot hand, then take it back just as fast. In the all-rounder table, Jansen jumped from second to first. He also gained 13 places in Test batting and now ranks 56th. Simon Harmer climbed 15 spots to eighth among all-rounders. ### Abhishek Sharma's Blistering Return to No. 1 Over in Wellington, Abhishek Sharma put on a show. He smashed 113 off 38 balls in the third T20I against New Zealand on Tuesday. India chased down 199 and won by six wickets, taking a 3-0 lead in the five-match series. His century came off just 35 balls. That innings lifted him to 897 rating points and pushed him past his India teammate Ishan Kishan, who'd grabbed the top spot back in July. Abhishek had managed just 29 and 27 in the first two matches—proof that one explosive knock can flip the whole picture. 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 Big Movers This Week Temba Bavuma rose four places to second in the Test batting rankings, behind only Harry Brook. Bavuma's 179 in the first innings of the second Test earned him Player of the Match honors. Scott Boland gained three places to reach sixth among Test bowlers. Brook also climbed six spots in the ODI batting rankings after scoring 202 against Sri Lanka in the ODI tri-series in Pakistan. On the bowling side, Shaheen Shah Afridi moved up two places to sixth, and Azmatullah Omarzai jumped 13 places to seventh after his performances in the UAE tri-series. The women's rankings shifted too. South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt took the No. 1 spot in ODI batting from India's Smriti Mandhana, who's now second. Mandhana sits fourth in the women's T20I batting list, one place behind her Indian teammate Shafali Verma in third. > "Rankings don't lie, but they do forget quickly. Every week, someone's four-year reign ends and someone else's begins." That's the nature of international cricket right now—deep talent pools, tight margins, and leaderboards that seem to change with every series. If you're following the numbers closely, keep an eye on that third Test. Starc isn't done yet, and neither is anyone else chasing the top.