Pakistan players improve ODI rankings

Pakistan opener Imamul Haq, all-rounder Shoaib Malik and fast-bowler Junaid Khan have improved their ODI rankings after the latest update from the International Cricket Council (ICC).   

Imam has gained 15 places to reach a career-best 27th position while Malik has gained 12 slots to reach 42nd position. Junaid has gained seven slots to reach 30th position among bowlers.

Meanwhile India openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have made important gains as well after the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which their side lifted by scoring a last-ball victory over Bangladesh in the final.

Sharma, who led the team in the absence of top-ranked batsman Virat Kohli, has shot up two places to a career-best second position to make it a 1-2 for India in the batting rankings. This is for the second time that Sharma is in second position, having first reached number two in July this year.

Sharma aggregated 317 runs while Dhawan topped the tournament with 342 runs to gain four slots and reach fifth position. The pair was rested in India’s last Super-Four match which ended in a tie against Afghanistan but still led the run aggregate, thanks largely to a 210-run partnership in the Super Four match against Pakistan in which Sharma slammed an unbeaten 111 and Dhawan scored 114.

Another India player to gain in the latest rankings update is spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who has advanced three places to take a career-best third position after finishing as the joint-highest wicket taker along with Bangladesh’s fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, all of who finished with 10 wickets each.

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan has displaced former Bangladesh captain Shakibal Hasan from the top of the all-rounders’ list. He has become the first from his country and 32nd overall to reach top position in the list with a jump of six places. Rashid’s success with the ball saw him cross the 800-point mark during the tournament, which saw in action five of the 10 teams to fight it out in next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup, and he also chipped in with 87 runs to reach a career-best 97th position among batsmen.

Afghanistan opener Mohammad Shahzad has gained 19 slots to reach 36th position, his highest in two years, while spinner Mujeebur Rahman has gained 15 slots to reach eighth position.

For Bangladesh, wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has attained a career-best 16th position, while Liton Das has advanced 107 positions to reach 116th rank after his fine century in the final. Mustafizur has moved up four places to take 12th position among bowlers.

For Sri Lanka, Upul Tharanga has gained two positions to reach 41st rank while Hong Kong captain Anshuman Rath’s knock of 73 against India has led him to 55th position with 532 points, the highest ever points tally for a Hong Kong batsman. Rath’s opening partner Nizakat Khan has gained 28 slots to reach a career-best 78th rank.

In the ICC ODI Team Rankings, Afghanistan have gained five points while Pakistan and Sri Lanka have lost three points each. India have also gained one point, but there has been no change in positions in the list led by England, who host the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 from May 30 to July 14.

Meanwhile, South Africa (ranked fourth) host Zimbabwe (ranked 11th) for a three-match series from Sunday, which will not see any change in positions. South Africa (110 points) and Zimbabwe (53 points) will retain their points if South Africa win 3-0. If South Africa lose by the same margin, they will slip to 103 points while Zimbabwe will move up to 60 points.