Najmul Hossain Shanto Enters Top 20 in ICC Rankings

Following a historic Test victory against Australia in Darwin, Bangladeshi cricketers have made notable gains in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) player rankings. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has achieved a career-best position, climbing nine places to break into the top twenty among Test batters.

Shanto currently holds a rating of 659 points, a milestone that places him ahead of prominent international and domestic peers, including India’s Ravindra Jadeja and teammate Litton Das. Among Bangladeshi batsmen, Shanto’s rating now stands as the sixth-highest in national history.

Bowlers also made significant strides following the Darwin encounter. Fast bowler Hasan Mahmud delivered a stellar performance in the first innings, claiming six wickets for fifty-five runs. That impressive spell propelled him twenty-six places upward to secure the thirty-eighth spot in the bowling rankings.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz, who claimed five wickets for sixty-six runs in the second innings, moved up three places to reach twenty-fourth among bowlers. Meanwhile, veteran Mushfiqur Rahim maintained his eighteenth position, making him the highest-ranked Bangladeshi batter in the format despite scoring thirty-six runs in his debut Test innings on Australian soil. Conversely, Litton Das slipped five spots to twenty-eighth after a first-innings duck.

The commanding nine-wicket victory by Bangladesh in Darwin also triggered shifts at the top of the international tables. Travis Head, who struggled with scores of twenty-two and seventeen in the two innings, relinquished the number one spot among Test batters. England’s Harry Brook reclaimed the summit for the fourth time since first reaching the top in December 2024. Joe Root also surpassed Head, while Australia’s Steve Smith secured third place after contributing scores of seventy-one and forty-four. Cameron Green advanced five places to thirtieth following a second-innings century.

Among other Bangladeshi batsmen, opener Tanzid Tamim recorded the most dramatic leap, surging eighty-four places to tie for eighty-eighth after hitting a century in Darwin. Mominul Haque climbed five spots to thirty-first, Shadman Islam rose three places to fifty-eighth, and Mehedi Hasan Miraz advanced five spots to fifty-ninth.

In the bowling department, Taijul Islam retained his eleventh position despite claiming a single wicket in the match. Taskin Ahmed improved by one place to forty-nine following a three-wicket haul, while young fast bowler Nahid Rana slipped one spot to sixtieth due to his absence from the squad. In the all-rounder rankings, Mehedi Hasan Miraz retained third place with an increased rating of 320 points, while India’s Ravindra Jadeja continued to hold the top spot.

Key Player Ranking Movements

How will these career-best ranking milestones influence Bangladesh’s strategic approach for upcoming international Test series?