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India ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reclaimed his No.1 status in the latest men’s ICC Test rankings for bowlers on Wednesday (March 13).
The ranking update came as the legendary off-spinner picked up nine wickets, including his 36th fifer, against England in the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala to help India win by an innings and 64 runs.
With the victory, the hosts also secured Test series 4-1 to register a hat-trick of Test series wins against England on home soil.As a result, Ashwin jumped one spot to the top of the tally with 870 rating points. The move saw his teammate Jasprit Bumrah drop to second place, equal with Australia's Josh Hazlewood with 847 rating points.
Overall, Ashwin finished with 26 wickets in the five-match series to become the leading wicket-taker in the series, where he also became the only second Indian bowler with 500-plus Test wickets after former captain and leg spinner Anil Kumble (619).
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) lauded Ravichandran Ashwin for moving to No.1 in the latest ICC Test rankings. One user wrote:
"GOAT FOREVER."
Here are a few more reactions:
Ravichandran Ashwin to play for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2024
Ravichandran Ashwin will next play for the Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The off-spinner was retained for INR 5 crore.
The senior bowler is one of the leading wicket-takers in the cash-rich T20 league, bagging 171 wickets in 197 matches at an economy rate of 7.01. Last year, Ashwin scalped 14 wickets for RR in 13 games at an economy rate of 7.51. The right-handed batter is also handy in the middle order.
The Royals will begin their IPL 2024 campaign against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur on March 24. They will also face Delhi Capitals (DC), Mumbai Indians (MI), and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on March 28, April 1 and April 6, respectively, during the first phase of IPL 2024.
