Ashwin, Jadeja to battle for top Test bowler’s rank

Dubai, Feb 7: India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be feeling the heat from teammate Ravindra Jadeja with the number one Test bowler ranking in question when they take the field against Bangladesh in the one-off cricket Test in Hyderabad from Thursday.

Ashwin is the number-one ranked bowler in the Intertiol Cricket Council (ICC) player rankings for Test bowlers, but Jadeja is breathing down his neck, just eight points behind, according to an ICC statement.

Now if Jadeja scores over Ashwin in the Test, he can potentially move ahead of the Cheni off-spinner, who has been in the top spot since bowling India to a comfortable 321-run victory over New Zealand in Indore in October 2016.

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is the third highest-ranked bowler (in 14th place) to feature in the series. He is followed by India's Ishant Sharma (23rd), Mehedi Hasan of Bangladesh (36th), India's Umesh Yadav (37th) and Taijul Islam of Bangladesh (39th).

In the batting table, skipper Virat Kohli is 58 points behind number-one ranked Steve Smith. Kohli will be aiming to carry his strong form into the Hyderabad Test, which will certainly help him rrow the gap with his Australian counterpart.

Other high-ranking batsmen to feature in the Test include Cheteshwar Pujara (12th), Ajinkya Rahane (15th), Shakib (22nd), Murali Vijay (27th), Tamim Iqbal (28th) and Mominul Haque (29th).

In the ICC team rankings, number-one ranked India lead ninth-ranked Bangladesh by 58 points.

The match will be Bangladesh's first Test match on Indian soil since attaining Test status in 2000. IANS