Historic first for Afghanistan batter after rankings update

Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah has created history by becoming the first player from his country to enter the top 10 in any category of the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings.

Rahmat climbs six spots to seventh on the rankings for Test batters following his innings of 173 in the opening match of Afghanistan's two-game series with Zimbabwe in Sharjah, with the in-form right-hander reaching a new career-high rating in the process.

It was Rahmat's fifth Test century of his career and second this year and it helped the 33-year-old jump in front of the likes of India captain Shubman Gill, South Africa opener Aiden Markram and Sri Lanka left-hander Kamindu Mendis and earn a spot inside the top 10 for the very first time.

It caps off a good fortnight for Afghanistan, who earlier this month achieved their highest-ever spot on the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings when they rose to sixth on the back of a tri-series triumph over Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Rahmat wasn't the only player to make gains following that drawn Test in Sharjah, with Zimbabwe veteran Craig Ervine also making good ground as he jumped up nine spots to 48th following his unbeaten double-century in the second innings.

The conclusion to the ICC World Test Championship series between Bangladesh and the West Indies also saw players from both sides make eye-catching progress, with Kavem Hodge (up 12 places to 52nd), Towhid Hridoy (outside the top 100 to 60th) and Amir Jangoo (up 28 rungs to 62nd) all rising the rankings for Test batters.

There was a new career-high rating for Jomel Warrican on the rankings for Test bowlers as he rose 11 spots to equal 19th following his Player of the Series heroics for the Caribbean side, while he also gained four places to improve to 31st on the list for Test all-rounders.

Teammate Justin Greaves also had an excellent series and he gained one place to move to equal eight for Test all-rounders.

There is also some changes on the latest ODI rankings following the first two matches of the ODI series between New Zealand and India and it's good news for a trio of India bowlers less than 12 months out from the start of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

All-rounder spinner Axar Patel rises 23 spots to 21st overall on the list for ODI bowlers, on the back of his spell of 2/28 in the second match of the series in Wellington, while fellow left-armer Arshdeep Singh gains 11 slots to move to equal 31st following a four-wicket haul in the series opener in Auckland.

India pacer Gurnoor Brar is the leading wicket-taker of the series thus far with seven scalps and the right-armer rises from outside the top 100 to 48th on the list for ODI bowlers, while there is good news for a pair of New Zealand seamers with Jacob Duffy (up eight slots to equal 43rd) and Kyle Jamieson (up 24 rungs to 60th) also making ground.