Imad Wasim slips to 2nd position in ICC's T20I ranking for bowlers

[MenInG]

New Zealand’s Colin Munro and Ish Sodhi have started 2018 with a bang after vaulting to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings for batsmen and bowlers respectively, following stellar performances in the series against the Windies, which concluded at Mount Maunganui on Wednesday.

Munro finished as the leading run-getter in the series with 223 runs at a strike-rate of just over 197, including a 53-ball 104 in the last match, while Sodhi grabbed three wickets, including two for 25 in the third T20I.

Munro, for his consistent form, has been rewarded with a jump of 11 places, which has put him in number-one position for the first time in his career. In the process, Munro has leapfrogged team-mates Kane Williamson, who has slipped two places to seventh, and Martin Guptill, who has conceded one place to drop out of the top-10 in 11th position.

Munro has collected 137 points in the series and now leads second-ranked Aaron Finch of Australia by nine points with India’s third-ranked Virat Kohi another eight points behind.

Sodhi, in contrast, has leaped from 10thto first, achieving a personal milestone of topping the bowlers’ rankings for the first time in his career. The wrist-spinner earned 70 points for his efforts, which has put him seven points ahead of second-ranked Imad Wasim of Pakistan. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is ranked third, just two points behind his Asian neighbour.

Munro is the third New Zealand batsman to surge to the top of the T20I batting table after Brendon McCullum and Guptill, while Sodhi is the third Black Caps bowler to rise to the top after Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond.

Munro and Sodhi are also the second New Zealand pair to top the T20I batting and bowling tables at the same time after McCullum and Vettori had simultaneously topped the batting and bowling tables in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

In the 50-over format, David Warner and Josh Hazlewood from Australia were the last team-mates to sit on top of the batting and bowling tables at the same time, while South Africa’s pair of AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn were the last to occupy the top batting and bowling slots at the same time in Tests.

A happy Munro said: “It’s a bit of a surprise but one that I think anybody would take. It’s been a bit of a goal of mine to get up the rankings and to get to the top is pretty special.

“Yeh great to get the treble. It’s pretty weird actually and it’s testament to the way we’ve prepared.

“Ish has been bowling wonderfully in T20 cricket and the team has been going from strength to strength and it’s testament to the way we’ve been preparing for series and I think we’re getting better and better every time.”

Ish Sodhi topped the bowlers' rankings for the first time in his career.

A delighted Sodhi commented: “I’m really grateful for the success I’ve had and I’m stoked to be ranked number-one. It hasn’t really sunk in just yet, but I’m sure it will as the days progress.

“I’ve been trying to find a really good balance between attacking and defending, and I think it’s getting better and better the more I play.

“I played club cricket with Colin when I was about 15-years-old and he handed me my first premier cricket cap. So, I’m stoked to see him doing what he is doing at the highest level.

“We’ve been a really good T20I side for quite some time now and I think it’s probably down to how we adapt to conditions and also our leadership - the boys have been really good at helping us young players.”

Other players to improve their rankings following the just-concluded series are Windies’ batsman Andre Fletcher, and New Zealand trio of Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult and Tim Southee.

Fletcher, who with a series aggregate of 73 runs was the second most successful batsman, has gained 13 places to break into the top-50 in 50thposition, Santner has return to the top-10 in sixth place after rising five positions, Boult has claimed 13thposition after earning four places and Southee has shot up 11 places to 70thafter finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the series with six wickets.

There is no change in the top three of the all-rounders’ list, which is headed by Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh. Glenn Maxwell of Australia and Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan are ranked second and third, respectively.

ICC Media Release on New Zealand reclaiming No.1 T20I ranking is availablehere.

MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 4 January 2018, after New Zealand v Windies series):

BATSMEN (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge S/Rate HS Rating

1 (+11) Colin Munro NZ 793! 32.65 161 793 v Win at Bay Oval 2018

2 (-1) Aaron Finch Aus 784 37.73 148 892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

3 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 776 52.86 138 897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014

4 (-2) Evin Lewis Win 734* 36.00 155 780 v Eng at Durham 2017

5 (-1) Lokesh Rahul Ind 726* 50.88 148 757 v SL at Indore 2017

6 ( - ) Glenn Maxwell Aus 700 28.93 165 763 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

7 (-2) Kane Williamson NZ 695 34.54 123 760 v Ban at Napier 2017

8 (-1) Alex Hales Eng 690 32.92 135 866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014

9= (-1) Hashim Amla SA 683! 34.51 133 683 v Ban at Potchefstroom 2017

(-1) Joe Root Eng 683 39.10 129 750 v Win at Kolkata 2016



SELECTED RANKINGS

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge S/Rate HS Rating

11 (-1) Martin Guptill NZ 679 33.20 131 793 v SA at Hamilton 2012

27 (-4) Chris Gayle Win 541 33.80 145 831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012

50 (+13) Andre Fletcher Win 432 22.37 109 492 v Afg at Nagpur 2016



BOWLERS (top 10)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Eco. Highest Rating

1 (+9) Ish Sodhi NZ 726*! 14.89 6.89 726 v Win at Bay Oval 2018

2 (-1) Imad Wasim Pak 719 20.25 6.01 780 v Win at Trinidad 2017

3 (-1) Rashid Khan Afg 717! 14.35 5.91 717 v Win at St Kitts 2017

4 (-1) Jasprit Bumrah Ind 702 19.17 6.71 764 v Eng at Bengaluru 2017

5 (+6) Mitchell Santner NZ 695* 20.04 6.76 697 v Win at Nelson 2017

6= (-2) Samuel Badree Win 691 18.72 5.98 855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

(-1) Imran Tahir SA 691 15.85 6.80 795 v NZ at Auckland 2017

8 (-1) M. Rahman Ban 667* 14.92 6.16 695 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2017

9= (-1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 661 20.65 6.79 672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

(-1) James Faulkner Aus 661 19.00 7.96 688 v SL at Adelaide 2017



SELECTED RANKINGS

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Eco. Highest Rating

13 (+4) Trent Boult NZ 616*! 19.10 8.10 616 v Win at Bay Oval 2018

29 ( - ) Carlos Brathwaite Win 530 27.86 8.75 552 v NZ at Nelson 2017

70 (+11) Tim Southee NZ 420 24.87 8.74 628 v Pak at Pallekele 2012



ALL-ROUNDERS (top three)

Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating

1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 354 408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015

2 ( - ) Glenn Maxwell Aus 330 388 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2016

3 ( - ) Mohammad Nabi Afg 275 286 v Ire at Greater Noida 2017

 

[MenInG]

Had to happen though but Ish Sodi ! Wow!

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Not surprising that Munro is ranked as the no.1 batsman.

 

[TeymurBlake]

No surprise that Imad go over taken but Ish Sodhi..... Really????? Ish Sodhi of all bowlers.

 

[MenInG]

Important points in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings will be up for grabs, with the seven sides chasing number-one ranked South Africa and second-ranked India featuring in 17 ODIs this month.

A packed month of 50-over cricket will commence in Wellington on Saturday, 6 January, when fifth-ranked New Zealand and sixth-ranked ICC Champions Trophy winner Pakistan will square-off in the first of five ODIs. The series will culminate in Wellington on Friday, 19 January and both the sides will aim to rise up the order.

New Zealand (112 points) leads Pakistan (99 points) by 13 points and can open the gap to as wide as 19 points if they win all five matches. However, if the series result is reversed, then Pakistan will narrow the gap with New Zealand to just two points.

World champion and third-ranked Australia will host fourth-ranked England also in a five-match series, which will start in Melbourne on Sunday, 14 January and conclude in Perth on 28 January. Both the sides are on equal points at 114, but Australia is ranked above England when the points are calculated beyond the decimal point.

This means the side that wins the series will break clear of their opponent. If Australia wins all five matches of the series, then they will rise to 119 points and England will drop to 110 points. In contrast, if England sweeps the series, then they will move to 118 points and Australia will slip to 110 points.

Mirpur will be the stage of the tri-series involving hosts Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe with the series starting on Monday, 15 January, at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

Seventh-ranked Bangladesh (92 points) will enter the series ahead of eighth-ranked Sri Lanka (84 points) and 10th-ranked Zimbabwe (52 points).

In this series, Bangladesh will have a chance to finish as high as 95 points, Sri Lanka 87 points and Zimbabwe 61 points, while Bangladesh can finish as low as 84 points, Sri Lanka 81 points and Zimbabwe 51 points (which would leave them behind Afghanistan by a fraction of a point).

The series will be incredibly important to Zimbabwe, which will be bidding to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on home turf in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in March. The finalists from the Zimbabwe event will join the eight top-ranked sides in the ICC’s pinnacle 50-over tournament and, in addition to the host, some of the strong contenders to assemble in Bulawayo and Harare include ICC Intercontinental Cup champion Afghanistan, Ireland, ICC World Cricket League Championship holder Netherlands, Scotland and Windies.

In the Dhaka series, Zimbabwe will not only try to provide maximum exposure to its players but will also pit themselves against more experienced and skilled opponents, which, in turn, will help them prepare for the challenging ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings, unlike the Test team rankings, are updated after each match. To find out how the teams can progress this month, please use the ICC ODI predictor function which is available here.

Meanwhile, in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen, Australia’s third-ranked David Warner will have an opportunity to move to the top of the table as number-one ranked Virat Kohli and second-ranked AB de Villiers do not wear coloured clothing until 1 February.

Warner is 11 points behind Kohli, and trails de Villiers by seven points. A few very strong performances against England will potentially help him reclaim the coveted position, he first achieved 12 months ago before de Villiers replaced him in March. Kohli went top of the table following the group stage matches in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Babar Azam (fourth), Kane Williamson (10th), Ross Taylor (11th) and Martin Guptill (15th) are the high-ranking batsmen from Pakistan and New Zealand to feature inside the top-20 and looking to make an upward movement.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Pakistan’s Hasan Ali will begin as the number-one ranked bowler and will aim to widen the gap with second-ranked Imran Tahir of South Africa, who is likely to feature in the series against India in February. The two bowlers are separated by 16 points.

Hasan Ali, the Player of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, had started 2017 in 75th position and climbed to number-one following a successful series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates. He is the only Pakistan bowler to feature inside the top-20, with the next highest-ranked bowler being Mohammad Amir in 26th position.

Trent Boult is New Zealand’s highest-ranked bowler in fourth position and has India’s Jasprit Bumrah firmly within his sights. The Black Caps fast bowler trails the Indian by six points and a few strong performances will potentially help him break into the top-three.

New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and fast bowler Matt Henry are the other two bowlers to feature inside the top-20, in 10th and 17th positions respectively. Only 37 points separate the two teammates.

In the all-rounders’ category, Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez is ranked number-one and leads Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan by six points. The Bangladesh left-arm spinner has a chance to move to the top as his Asian rival will be featuring in the series against New Zealand only as a batsman. New Zealand’s highest-ranked all-rounder is Mitchell Santner in ninth spot.

The player rankings will now be updated on 29 January, following the conclusion of Australia versus England ODI series.



New Zealand v Pakistan



6 Jan – 1st ODI, Wellington

9 Jan – 2nd ODI, Nelson

13 Jan – 3rd ODI, Dunedin

16 Jan – 4th ODI, Hamilton

19 Jan – 5th ODI, Wellington



Australia v England



14 Jan – 1st ODI, Melbourne

19 Jan – 2nd ODI, Brisbane

21 Jan – 3rd ODI, Sydney

26 Jan – 4th ODI, Adelaide

28 Jan – 5th ODI, Perth



Tri-series in Bangladesh



15 Jan – Bangladesh v Zimbabwe, Mirpur (d/n)

17 Jan – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Mirpur (d/n)

19 Jan – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Mirpur (d/n)

21 Jan – Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe, Mirpur (d/n)

23 Jan – Bangladesh c Zimbabwe, Mirpur (d/n)

25 Jan – Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, Mirpur (d/n)

27 Jan – Final, Mirpur (d/n)



MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 4 January 2018):



Rank Team Points

1. South Africa 121

2. India 119

3. Australia 114

4. England 114

5. New Zealand 112

6. Pakistan 99

7. Bangladesh 92

8. Sri Lanka 84

9. Windies 76

10. Zimbabwe 52

11. Afghanistan 51

12. Ireland 44



(Developed by David Kendix)



MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 4 January 2018):



BATSMEN (top 20)



Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating

1 Virat Kohli Ind 876 55.74 889 v NZ at Kanpur 2017

2 AB de Villiers SA 872 54.06 902 v NZ at Auckland 2015

3 David Warner Aus 865 44.94 880 v Pak at Adelaide 2017

4 Babar Azam Pak 846*! 58.60 846 v SL at Sharjah 2017

5 Rohit Sharma Ind 816 45.23 825 v SL at Mohali 2017

6 Quinton de Kock SA 808! 45.85 808 v Ban at East London 2017

7 Joe Root Eng 802 50.00 808 v Win at Bristol 2017

8 Faf du Plessis SA 773 43.90 791 v SL at Cape Town 2017

9 Hashim Amla SA 766 51.25 901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012

10 Kane Williamson NZ 750 46.23 798 v SA at Centurion 2015

11 Ross Taylor NZ 735 44.99 743 v Zim at Harare 2015

12 MS Dhoni Ind 729 51.55 836 v Aus at Delhi 2009

13 Steve Smith Aus 728 43.23 752 v Pak at Sydney 2017

14 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 726 44.86 794 v SA at Melbourne 2015

15 Martin Guptill NZ 717 42.71 789 v SA at Hamilton 2017

16 Tamim Iqbal Ban 677 34.32 688 v Aus at The Oval 2017

17 Aaron Finch Aus 674 36.56 743 v Eng at Melbourne 2015

18 Alex Hales Eng 660 37.89 705 v NZ at Cardiff 2017

19 Mushfiqur Rahim Ban 658 32.92 671 v Zim at Mirpur 2015

20 Eoin Morgan Eng 650 38.16 690 v Aus at The Oval 2010



BOWLERS (top 20)



Rank Player Team Points Avge Eco. Highest Rating

1 Hasan Ali Pak 759*! 19.82 5.11 759 v SL at Sharjah 2017

2 Imran Tahir SA 743 23.72 4.64 786 v SL at Johannesburg 2017

3 Jasprit Bumrah Ind 729* 22.71 4.74 731 v SL at Mohali 2017

4 Trent Boult NZ 723 24.65 4.99 766 v Ind at Delhi 2016

5 Josh Hazlewood Aus 714 23.85 4.69 732 v Eng at Edgbaston 2017

6 Kagiso Rabada SA 708 26.08 5.05 724 v Eng at Lord's 2017

7 Mitchell Starc Aus 684 20.13 4.81 783 v NZ at Melbourne 2015

8 Rashid Khan Afg 649*! 14.48 3.91 649 v Ire at Sharjah 2017

9 Liam Plunkett Eng 646! 30.22 5.77 646 v Win at Southampton 2017

10 Mitchell Santner NZ 644! 32.11 4.92 644 v Win at Christchurch 2017

11 Akshar Patel Ind 643* 31.31 4.43 663 v Aus at Nagpur 2017

12 Adil Rashid Eng 639 32.02 5.55 655 v Ban at Chittagong 2016

13 Sunil Narine Win 636 26.46 4.12 791 v SL at Jamaica 2013

14 Chris Woakes Eng 635 31.45 5.58 651 v SA at Headingley 2017

15 B. Kumar Ind 621 36.89 4.93 657 v Win at Dharamsala 2014

16 M. Nabi Afg 612 32.06 4.29 653 v Zim at Harare 2017

17 Matt Henry NZ 607 25.31 5.58 675 v Aus at Hamilton 2016

18 Morne Morkel SA 587 24.48 4.94 717 v SL at East London 2012

19 Pat Cummins Aus 580 29.24 5.41 588 v Ind at Indore 2017

20 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 578 29.95 4.44 717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009



ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)



Rank Player Team Points Highest Rating

1 M. Hafeez Pak 352 438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013

2 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 346 453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009

3 Angelo Mathews SL 321 427 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014

4 Mohammad Nabi Afg 316 349 v Ire at Greater Noida 2017

5 Ben Stokes Eng 293 299 v Win at Bristol 2017

 

[hadi123]

Imad Wasim may slip even further if he misses the T20 series due to injury as well. Hopefully he'll recover in time.

 

[shane]

Not sure why they even bother producing these rankings. No one takes them seriously.