ICC Rankings: Dhawan makes it to top 10 of ODI batting rankings for first time

Shikhar Dhawan

India’s Shikhar Dhawan has made it to the top 10 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen for the first time in his career after he moved up two places to ninth in the latest update which were released on Sunday, a day after the conclusion of South Africa-Pakistan series and it also covers the India-West Indies series that finished last Wednesday.

Pakistan beat South Africa by 2-1, while India beat the West Indies by an identical margin. However, the results did not lead to any change on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings table with all four teams retaining its pre-series rankings i.e. India (first), West Indies (seventh), South Africa (fifth) and Pakistan (sixth).

Reverting to the player rankings, Dhawan has been rewarded for his 159 runs in three matches against West Indies as he has moved up two places to a career-high ninth position with a best-ever ratings points of 736.

Hashim Amla has moved up a place to fourth while Dhawan’s movement has resulted in Misbah-ul-Haq slipping one position to 10th in the only other changes inside the top 10.

Outside the top 20, the batsmen to move up are Darren Bravo in 30th (up by 10), Johnson Charles in 34th (up by one), Lendl Simmons in 38th (up by two), Ahmed Shehzad in 43rd (up by 26), Marlon Samuels in 49th (up by four), Darren Sammy in 65th (up by nine) and Yuvraj Singh in 70th (up by one).

India’s Virat Kohli leads the field with South Africa captain AB de Villiers just 17 ratings points behind in second place. With India playing South Africa in a three-match series from 5 December, Kohli and de Villiers could well be facing-off for a stint at the top batting rank.

Other Indians in the Top 20 are MS Dhoni at 6th, Rohit Sharma at 15th and Suresh Raina at 19th making it a total of 5.

Meanwhile, South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has continued his upward move inside the top 10 of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers. Steyn has moved up five positions to fifth after claiming nine wickets in two ODIs against Pakistan.

The other two South Africa bowlers inside the top 10 are Morne Morkel in ninth and Lonwabo Tsotsobe in 10th.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin has moved up three places to 14th, while Pakistan’s Junaid Khan in 19th (up by seven) has moved into the top 20 for the first-time ever.

Outside the top 20, Ryan McLaren in 22nd (up by four), Ravi Rampaul in 28th (up by six), Shahid Afridi in 29th (up by two), Mohammad Shami in 50th (up by 14) and Wayne Parnell in 54th (up by four) are some of the others to move upwards.

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal has maintained his hold on the number-one rank on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers with West Indies’ Sunil Narine in second and India’s Ravindra Jadeja in third place.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Mohammed Hafeez has ceded the number-one rank on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders to Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, with Australia’s Shane Watson moving up a place to second. Hafeez is now ranked third in the all-rounders’ list.

To find out exactly how the forthcoming series will affect the Rankings Table, please click here. The ODI and T20I Rankings tables, unlike the Test Rankings Table, are updated after every match.

Meanwhile, India starts the three-match series against South Africa from 5 December in Johannesburg, assured of retaining its number-one ranking on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings table, irrespective of the outcome of the series.

India is currently ranked first with 122 ratings points, while South Africa is in fifth place with 107 ratings points.

It is for South Africa that the series offers an opportunity to move up a place to fourth, but only if it sweeps the series 3-0. In such a scenario, South Africa will gain four ratings points to move level with second-ranked England on 111, but it will be ranked below Alastair Cook’s men when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.

But if South Africa wins the series by any other margin it will retain its pre-series fifth rank.

South Africa v India

5 December: 1st ODI, Johannesburg (d/n)

8 December: 2nd ODI, Durban

11 December: 3rd ODI, Centurion (d/n)