Marnus Labuschagne breaks into top 3 of Test rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara drops to 6
Australia top-order batsman Marnus Labuschange has broken into the top three of ICC Test rankings to sit after Virat Kohli and Steve Smith while Chetershwar Pujara has been dropped to number 6. Previously, it was Kane Williamson at No.3, who now finds himself at a position below Pujara.
With the New Year comes a new set of Test rankings and the interesting part is Australia’s surprise package Marnus Labuschagne has been rewarded for his golden season with the bat. Since he was incorporated back to the Aussie setup, during the second Ashes Test at Lord's in August, Labuschagne played 15 Test innings and amassed 1249 runs at 83.26 batting average.
The Queenslander now sits above two of the ‘Fab Four’ members- Kane Williamson and Joe Root. Both Williamson and Root, the New Zealand and England captains, haven't enjoyed a great form recently.
Meanwhile, Pujara who hasn’t played since the pink-ball Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata, has fallen down to the number 6 position. David Warner, who scored a second-innings hundred at the SCG, has moved up two spots to 5. Coming to the bowler’s rankings, Mitchell Starc found himself in the top 5 going above Jasprit Bumrah. He is only second to world No.1 Pat Cummins amongst Australian bowlers.