Kanpur: The top three batsmen in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen will feature in the India-South Africa ODI series starting in Kanpur from Sunday.

South Africa captain AB de Villiers holds a 73-point advantage over his compatriot and second-ranked Hashim Amla who, in turn, is 21 points clear of India’s Virat Kohli.

Apart from Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan (sixth) and Dhoni (eighth) are the other batsmen who represent the home side inside the top 10 and will be looking for upward movements during the series.

Outside the top 10, Rohit Sharma (15th), Faf du Plessis (17th) and Suresh Raina (18th), Quinton de Kock (23rd), David Miller (26th), JP Duminy (34th), Ajinkya Rahane (38th) and Ambati Rayudu (49th) will be aiming to improve their rankings.

In the ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir will need to put up strong performances during the series if he has to retain his number-one position. The wrist spinner leads Australia’s Mitchell Starc, with fifth-ranked Dale Steyn not too far behind.

Other bowlers looking to head in the right direction include Ravichandran Ashwin (ninth), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (10th), Morne Morkel (11th), Umesh Yadav (24th), Amit Mishra (45th) and Mohit Sharma (48th).

Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan holds a commanding lead at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders and the highest-ranked all-rounder on either side heading into the series is ninth-placed Duminy.

Forthcoming matches:

India v South Africa
11 Oct – First ODI, Kanpur
14 Oct – Second ODI, Indore (d/n)
18 Oct – Third ODI, Rajkot (d/n)
22 Oct – Fourth ODI, Chennai (d/n)
25 Oct – Fifth ODI, Mumbai (d/n)

ICC ODI Championship table (as on 10 October, ahead of India-South Africa series):

Rank Team Points

1 Australia 127
2 India 115
3 South Africa 110
4 New Zealand 109
5 Sri Lanka 103
6 England 100
7 Bangladesh 96
8 West Indies 88
9 Pakistan 88
10 Ireland 49
11 Zimbabwe 47
12 Afghanistan 41