Dharamsala: In the ICC T20I Player Rankings, which were updated following the conclusion of Zimbabwe and Pakistan series, India’s Virat Kohli will defend his number-one batting position. The India top-order batsman had moved ahead of Australia’s Aaron Finch, who had slipped to second after missing his side’s T20I against England in Cardiff.
Kohli leads Finch by seven points and to retain the top spot, the former India U19 captain will have to perform strongly in the series.
Likewise, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will also be targeting an improvement in his batting ranking. Du Plessis is currently in fourth position and trails England’s Alex Hales by 47 points.
Other top-ranked batsmen to feature in the forthcoming series include Suresh Raina (11th), JP Duminy (16th), Quinton de Kock (22nd), Hashim Amla (24th), David Miller (31st), MS Dhoni (33rd) and AB de Villiers (39th).
India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be the highest-ranked bowler from either side. The 29-year-old from Chennai is ranked fourth and has Sri Lanka’s third-ranked Sachithra Senanayake firmly within his sights.
South Africa’s Imran Tahir is his side’s highest-ranked bowler in 12th position and will be looking to break into the top 10 for the first time in his career. He trails Sri Lanka’s 10th-ranked Nuwan Kulasekara by 19 points.
Other bowlers aiming to make progress include Bhuvneshwar Kumar (35th), Kyle Abbott (44th), Harbhajan Singh (49th) and Duminy (60th).
Duminy (seventh) and Kohli (14th) are their sides’ highest-ranked all-rounders with the list headed by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan.
Series schedule:
2 Oct – 1st T20I, Dharamsala
5 Oct – 2nd T20I, Cuttack
8 Oct – 3rd T20I, Kolkata