ICC rankings for ODI bowlers: Saeed Ajmal continues hold over No.1 position

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal retains his No.1 ICC ODI ranking

In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers, New Zealand’s fast bowling pair of Tim Southee and Trent Boult have made significant gains courtesy of their exploits in the World Cup so far.

Southee is the leading bowler of the tournament to date with 13 wickets, which has helped him jump 10 places to 12th, while Boult’s 10 wickets to date have put him in a career-high 24th place after a rise of 23 places. Spin wizard Daniel Vettori has summed up an excellent first couple of weeks for New Zealand by grabbing eight wickets, which has earned him five places and moves to the ninth spot in the latest rankings.

Saeed Ajmal and Sunil Narine, meanwhile, continue their hold over the top two spots, despite the fact that they withdrew from the ongoing World Cup due to a cloud existing over their bowling actions.

South Africa’s wrist spinner Imran Tahir, Australia paceman Mitchell Starc and Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan have all achieved career-best rankings.

Tahir has jumped seven places to fourth following his nine wickets in three matches, Starc has gained two places to fifth following his eight wickets in two matches and Irfan’s five wickets have given him a place inside the top 10 following a rise of six places.

India’s Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin have also made upward movements. Shami has gained 14 places and is now in 11th position while Ashwin’s eight wickets to date have helped him climb six places to 16th.

Ireland’s left-arm spinner George Dockrell is the highest-ranked bowler amongst the Associate Member countries. The 22-year-old’s four wickets in two matches have given him a rise of eight places that has put him in 28th position.

Scotland’s Josh Davey, who has taken nine wickets in three matches to date, shares the 91st spot with Australia’s Glenn Maxwell after gaining15 places in the latest rankings.

ICC Player rankings for ODI bowlers

Rank	Player	Country	Rating
1	Saeed Ajmal	Pakistan	733
2	Sunil Narine	West Indies	719
3	Dale Steyn	South Africa	708
4	Imran Tahir	South Africa	703
5	Mitchell Starc	Australia	687
6	Mitchell Johnson	Australia	667
7	James Anderson	England	663
8	Shakib Al Hasan	Bangladesh	663
9	Daniel Vettori	New Zealand	647
10	Mohammad Irfan	Pakistan	641