Bangladesh may have lost the Sylhet Test to Zimbabwe, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz made sure his individual performance stood out. His record-breaking bowling effort was reflected in the ICC Test rankings, as he made a significant jump among the top bowlers.
In the ICC’s latest weekly update for men’s rankings, released on Wednesday, Miraz climbed four places and now ranks 26th among Test bowlers.
In Zimbabwe’s first innings, Miraz took the final five wickets all by himself. In the second innings, he struck early, dismantling the top order with another five-wicket haul. His impressive performance marked the third time he has taken 10 or more wickets in a single Test match — a feat no other Bangladeshi bowler has achieved. Among Bangladesh’s bowlers, only Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam have done it twice.
Despite Miraz’s brilliant bowling, Bangladesh suffered a narrow 3-wicket defeat to Zimbabwe in that Test match.
Nahid Rana, who picked up three wickets in the same game, moved up three places and is now tied for 68th with Zimbabwe’s Wellington Masakadza. Khaled Ahmed, with one wicket in the match, moved up two spots to 85th.
Zimbabwean pacer Blessing Muzarabani played a key role in his team’s first overseas Test win in four years. He took three wickets in the first innings and six in the second, helping him jump 14 places to a career-best 15th — the highest ranking for any Zimbabwean bowler. Muzarabani, who won the Player of the Match award, now has a rating of 705 points. He is only the second Zimbabwean bowler in history to cross the 700-point mark in Test rankings. The first was the late Heath Streak, who peaked at 794 points in 1996.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah remains the top-ranked Test bowler, while England’s Joe Root holds the No. 1 spot among Test batsmen.
Mominul Haque, who scored 56 and 47 in the Sylhet Test, moved up five positions to 48th. Zakir Hasan jumped 10 places to 50th after scoring 58 in the second innings.
Nazmul Hossain Shanto also improved his ranking. The Bangladesh captain scored 40 and 60 in the two innings, rising four spots to share the 52nd position with Ireland’s Lorcan Tucker. Mahmudul Hasan Joy, with scores of 14 and 33, moved up five places and is now 95th.
Zimbabwe’s opener Brian Bennett made one of the biggest gains in the rankings. After scoring 57 and 54 in the two innings, he climbed 54 places to share the 90th position with teammate Wesley Madhevere.
Among Test all-rounders, India’s Ravindra Jadeja remains at the top.
