Published on 07:00 PM, December 06, 2023

Taijul surpasses Shakib with career-best ranking 

Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam jumped four places to a career-best 14th in the ICC Test Bowlers' Rankings after his 10-wicket haul and Player of the Match heroics against New Zealand in the first of the two-match series on December 2.

Taijul's total of 708 rating points is the highest ever by a Bangladesh bowler, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan's 705 achieved in August 2017.

The 31-year-old led the spin attack in absence of Shakib for the Tigers who sank the Kiwis to a 150-run defeat at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on December 2. The left-arm spinner returned figures of 10 wickets for 184 runs as the hosts took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Taijul is Bangladesh's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests with 189 scalps, only behind Shakib's tally of 233 wickets.