Mushfiq, Taijul reach career best Test rankings

Bangladesh batsman Mushfiqur RahimProthom Alo

Mushfiqur Rahim and Taijul Islam reaped the rewards for the outstanding performance in the one-off Test against Ireland as both have ascended to their best ever spot in the ICC Test batsman and bowlers rankings respectively.

Mushfiq had hit a century in the first innings and an unbeaten 51 in the second innings of the Dhaka Test while Taijul claimed a five wicket haul in the first innings and took four in the second innings to finish with match figures of 9-148. Their performances helped Bangladesh win the match by seven wickets.

In the latest weekly ranking update by the ICC, Mushfiq has moved up to 17th on the list of batters, reports news agency UNB.

Mushfiq had ranked 17th in Tests once before, in last year’s May after the Sri Lanka series.

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam
Prothom Alo

Taijul, on the other hand, has advanced three places in the list of bowlers to reach 20th.

His previous highest ranking was 21st in May 2018 after a series against the West Indies.

Test captain Shakib Al Hasan, who bowled just 16 overs in the game and took two wickets, also advanced three slots and is now at 38th in the bowling rankings.

Liton Das, who made 66 runs in two innings in the match, dropped down two places to 16th in the batting rankings.

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne tops the rankings of Test batters and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin tops the bowlers’ list.