Jasprit Bumrah becomes first Indian pacer to be ranked number one in ICC Test 

Jasprit Bumrah has picked up 27 wickets ever since his comeback in the format.

Jasprit Bumrah becomes first Indian pacer to be ranked number one in ICC Test 

Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the last wicket of the 2nd Test (Image via ESPN)

On 7th February, the ICC announced that Jasprit Bumrah was now the number 1 ranked pacer in the ICC Test Bowlers ranking. He has now become the first Indian pacer to be ranked at the top. He is also the first bowler to be ranked first in all formats. 

Ever since his comeback into Test Cricket, Jasprit Bumrah has been breathing fire. Missing out on 11 months of cricket, Bumrah first returned in a T20I series against Ireland and then played an integral role in the Asia Cup and 2023 World Cup. He finally returned to Test cricket on the tour of South Africa, where he picked up 12 wickets in three innings. 

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During England’s tour of India, Bumrah’s exploits with reverse swing got him 15 wickets in four innings. During the 2nd Test, he picked up 9 wickets in the two innings, with a five-wicket haul. The highlight of that match was his post-lunch session, where he bowled his iconic yorker to Ollie Pope. After the 2nd Test, he overtook Kagiso Rabada to become the highest-rated bowler in the rankings with 881 points. 

Jasprit Bumrah believes he learnt reverse swing before conventional swing 

Many fans and pundits were in awe of Jasprit Bumrah’s reverse swinging masterclass during the 2nd Test, getting the wickets of Joe Root, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Tom Hartley and James Anderson. Talking about his tactics, Bumrah revealed he first learnt how to bowl reverse swing before conventional swing as it worked in India. 

Jasprit Bumrah Ollie Pope
Jasprit Bumrah clean bowls Ollie Pope (Image via ESPN)
In first-class cricket, if you wanna take wickets in India, you've got to learn reverse swing. Probably I learnt reverse swing before I learnt conventional swing. You play a lot of cricket on slow wickets, you understand what you need to do over here.
Jasprit Bumrah to JioCinema

Talking about his delivery to Pope, Bumrah said he tried to set up the batter. Knowing the ball was reversing, he bowled a couple of balls moving away. Thinking about what to bowl next, he decided to bowl a reverse inswinging yorker as he hadn’t bowled a yorker earlier. The plan worked out, as he hit timber. 

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