ICC Test Rankings Review: Team India players in top 10 in Batting, Bowling and All-rounders category.
Since the introduction of the World Test Championship (WTC), Team India have done an excellent job in both home and away Tests. They were the runners-up on the two previous cycles, showing their consistency in the longest format. Even in the third and ongoing cycle of WTC 2023-25, they are at the top position with a percentage of 68.51, winning six out of nine encounters. India’s consistency has been key to their dream run.
They sit in the second position on the men’s Test team rankings with a 120 rating. The Rohit Sharma-led side have two home Test series left—against Bangladesh and New Zealand—before they fly to Australia. A couple of series victories at home will strengthen their chances for a third WTC final appearance. However, a slip from this position will make their five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) quite vital.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma need to step up in acid Test
The batters have scored runs on most occasions in the third cycle of the WTC. The new sensational left-handed opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal, is the leading run-getter of the 2023-25 season. He has notched up 1028 runs in nine games at an average of nearly 70. The strike rate of over 70 has been superb, besides celebrating four half-centuries and three hundreds.
His opening partner, captain Rohit Sharma, has also been in superb touch. The veteran is India’s second-highest run scorer of the WTC cycle, with 700 runs in nine innings. The average of 46.66, enjoying three fifties and three centuries each, has been excellent.
Virat Kohli missed the last home Test series against England due to personal reasons. In four Tests of the current cycle, the former skipper has managed 369 runs at an average of 61.50.
Both Kohli and Rohit have taken T20I retirements and aren't going to play many One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Their main focus should be to remain consistent with the bat, especially in Australia. Other members of the batting department, too, need to step up in crunch situations.
In the ICC Test batter’s rankings, Rohit is the top-ranked India player at the sixth position, followed by Jaiswal at eighth. Kohli sits at number ten. All of them will look to show their class in the upcoming ten Tests for the rest of the cycle.
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India bet on spin twins at home and Jasprit Bumrah for away Tests
When India play at home, the captain doesn’t worry much after giving the ball to Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both show their skill in spinning conditions and have been successful for more than a decade. In the pace department, Jasprit Bumrah has displayed his magic by taking crucial wickets in crunch situations.
Without a shadow of a doubt, all of them are important for the blue brigade in the red-ball format. Ashwin is currently the top-ranked bowler in the men's Test bowling rankings. The off-spinner is also the fifth-highest wicket-taker of the current WTC cycle, with 42 scalps in eight games. His bowling average of 21.69, besides four five-wicket hauls, has been impressive.
Bumrah is third on the rankings, recording 31 wickets in six Tests at an average of just 15.35. The Ahmedabad-born has enjoyed a couple of five-wicket hauls, with a best figure of 6/45. His skill of foxing the batters and picking up a wicket out of nowhere shows his value.
Jadeja sits seventh. The left-arm spinner is the ninth-highest wicket-taker of the third WTC cycle, with 26 wickets. His partnership with Ashwin will be essential for India, especially during the five home Tests. When Rohit and co. fly to Australia, Bumrah will lead the pace attack.
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Axar Patel’s all-round skills in red-ball format
Jadeja and Ashwin have always contributed with the bat for the national side. Especially, the former has displayed his capabilities in the batting department. Since his debut, Axar Patel has shone a lot in the lower order. When the team was under pressure against Australia during the last series in 2023, Patel showed maturity in scoring runs with the tail.
Both Jadeja and Ashwin are in the first and second positions, respectively, among the men’s Test all-rounder rankings. Axar is in the fifth position, and India are the only team to have the luxury of having three players among the top 10. All of them are expected to play in the five Tests at home.
However, when they travel to Australia, one of these three could feature in the eleven. Because of his batting skills, the management has mostly given chances to the Saurashtra all-rounder. But at some point of the trip, in those five Tests, Ashwin could prove to be useful with both bat and ball.
In the nine Tests they have played so far, India have lost just two. They are expected to win comfortably against Bangladesh and New Zealand in familiar conditions. Soon after, a tough challenge awaits Rohit Sharma’s men in Australia.
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