DUBAI: Dhananjay de Silva’s superb performance in the first Test against Bangladesh took him to the brink of the top 10 batsmen worldwide. His two centuries as Sri Lanka’s new Test captain led to a massive 328-run victory, which took him to a career-high ranking in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings.
De Silva climbed a remarkable 15 places to 14th overall thanks to his remarkable performance, thanks to his scores of 102 and 108. The 32-year-old’s stellar performance boosted his rating to an all-time high of 695, placing him just 40 points shy of breaking into the weighty top 10 list of Test batsmen around the world.
As a result of De Silva’s rise, Pakistan batsmen Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan moved up one place each in the rankings. Shakeel is now ranked 15th with 693 rating points while Rizwan has dropped to 18th position with 668 rating points. Meanwhile, Pakistan batsman Babar Azam maintains his position at the third spot with 768 rating points, with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson leading the charts with 859 rating points.
Sri Lanka’s joy extended to the updated Test bowlers’ ratings, with right-arm quick Kasun Rajitha emerging as one of the notable climbers after his five-wicket haul in the second innings against Bangladesh. Rajith’s commendable performance took him up six places to the 38th position with 515 rating points.
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In addition, teammates Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara also made significant strides, with Fernando climbing seven places to 43rd and Kumara climbing six places to share the 46th position.
Rajith’s rise saw Naseem Shah drop to 39th place with 514 rating points. Fernando’s promotion to 43rd position with 489 points saw Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed drop two places to 44th and 45th respectively. Additionally, Aamer Jamal has also dropped one spot and now shares the 46th spot with Lahiru Kumara. Shaheen Afridi remains the only Pakistani bowler in the top ten, securing the tenth spot with 733 rating points.
