India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be gunning for the No.1 spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers as an interesting contest promises to develop with Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who wrested the top spot following a 10-wicket haul in the Lord’s Test that ended on Sunday.
Yasir is seven points ahead of Ashwin with three more matches to go against England. One will have to wait and see how long the two can continue the rare occurrence of two spinners at the top. The last time slow bowlers took the top two slots was in March 2006 when Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralidaran and Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne peaked to number-one and two positions, respectively.
India’s left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja is the other India bowler inside the top 10 in sixth spot, while fast bowler Ishant Sharma is ranked in 20th place.
For the West Indies and in the absence of an injured 21st-raned Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor will start the series as his side’s top-ranked bowler in 24th place.
India’s Ajinkya Rahane will be the top-ranked batsman from either side in 12th spot and hoping to break back into the top 10. India captain Virat Kohli, who has been ranked No.1 in both ODIs and T20s but never higher than eighth in Tests, will also be looking to improve his current ranking of 14th.
For the West Indies, stylish left-hander Darren Bravo is in 23rd spot, while Kraigg Braithwaite is 32nd and the experienced Marlon Samuels 43rd.
The Sri Lanka-Australia series will see several leading batsmen in action, including skipper Steven Smith, who is the top ranked batsman in the MRF Tyres ICC Rankings for Test Batsmen. Adam Voges (sixth) and vice-captain David Warner (eighth) have opportunities to improve their rankings, while Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews is the only batsman from his side inside the top 10 in 10th position.
Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood in eighth position is the highest-ranked bowler in the series, but team-mates Nathan Lyon (12th), Mitchell Starc (14th) and James Pattinson (19th) all have enough incentive to move up the ladder.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 19 July, before the start of India-West Indies and Sri Lanka-Australia series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
1 Steve Smith Aus 925 60.18 936 v Eng at Lord's 2015
2 K. Williamson NZ 868 49.23 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
3 Hashim Amla SA 860 51.45 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
4 Joe Root Eng 820 52.20 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
5 AB de Villiers SA 818 50.46 935 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2014
6= Younus Khan Pak 811 53.64 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
Adam Voges Aus 811*! 95.50 811 v NZ at Christchurch 2016
8 David Warner Aus 800 50.06 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
9 Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 786 49.07 842 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2014
10 Angelo Mathews SL 765 48.70 877 v NZ at Christchurch 2014
Other selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
12 Ajinkya Rahane Ind 753! 44.97 753 v SA at Delhi 2015
14 Virat Kohli Ind 725 44.02 784 v NZ at Wellington 2014
18 Murali Vijay Ind 697 41.09 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015
19 C. Pujara Ind 696 47.45 851 v SA at Durban 2013
20 D. Chandimal SL 664 44.60 690 v NZ at Dunedin 2015
23 Darren Bravo WI 639 41.50 709 v Aus at Trinidad 2012
27 Usman Khawaja Aus 608* 49.54 613 v NZ at Wellington 2016
31 Joe Burns Aus 575*! 49.29 575 v NZ at Christchurch 2016
32 K. Brathwaite WI 574 34.40 591 v Eng at Grenada 2015
34 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 572* 40.87 593 v SL at Galle 2015
36 Kaushal Silva SL 540 31.94 638 v Pak at Colombo (PSS) 2015
41 Shaun Marsh Aus 516* 37.72 537 v WI at Hobart 2015
43 Marlon Samuels WI 510 33.53 672 v Zim at Barbados 2013
46 J. Blackwood WI 479* 33.33 575 v Eng at Barbados 2015
49= R. Ashwin Ind 466 31.68 527 v Eng at Old Trafford 2014
Kusal Mendis SL 466*! 30.81 466 v Eng at Lord's 2016
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
1 Yasir Shah Pak 878*! 23.00 878 v Eng at Lord's 2016
2 R. Ashwin Ind 871! 25.39 871 v SA at Delhi 2015
3 James Anderson Eng 868 28.33 884 v SL at Durham 2016
4 Stuart Broad Eng 859 28.34 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
5 Dale Steyn SA 841 22.53 909 v WI at Centurion 2014
6 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 789*! 23.76 789 v SA at Delhi 2015
7 Trent Boult NZ 757 29.14 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
8 Josh Hazlewood Aus 741* 25.77 792 v WI at Hobart 2015
9 Morne Morkel SA 724 29.33 776 v Aus at Cape Town 2011
10 Vernon Philander SA 717 22.08 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
Other selected rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Avge HS Rating
12 Nathan Lyon Aus 690 32.87 696 v NZ at Wellington 2016
13 Rangana Herath SL 671 30.18 851 v Pak at Colombo (SSC) 2014
14 Mitchell Starc Aus 658* 30.58 692 v NZ at Adelaide 2015
18 D. Prasad SL 601* 35.97 632 v WI at Colombo (PSS) 2015
20 Ishant Sharma Ind 579 36.90 671 v WI at Dominica 2011
24 Jerome Taylor WI 515* 34.46 717 v Eng at Jamaica 2009
25 Dilruwan Perera SL 495* 29.56 531 v Pak at Galle 2014
31 Amit Mishra Ind 462* 33.96 467 v SA at Nagpur 2015
33 Umesh Yadav Ind 441*! 36.05 441 v SA at Delhi 2015
34 Nuwan Pradeep SL 432*! 43.63 432 v Eng at Lord's 2016
35 M. Shami Ind 431* 36.14 467 v Aus at Sydney 2015
39 Shaminda Eranga SL 404* 37.49 541 v Eng at Headingley 2014
43 Suranga Lakmal SL 375*! 49.38 375 v Eng at Lord's 2016
45 Devendra Bishoo WI 372* 38.05 426 v Ind at Delhi 2011
46 D. Chameera SL 369* 27.28 377 v Eng at Headingley 2016
50 Mitchell Marsh Aus 329* 34.52 349 v WI at Melbourne 2015
All-rounders (top five)
Rank Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 R. Ashwin Ind 406 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
2 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 384 419 v Zim at Khulna 2014
3 Stuart Broad Eng 277 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
4 Vernon Philander SA 275*/ 376 v Aus at Cape Town 2014
5= Ravindra Jadeja Ind 259*/*! 259 v SA at Delhi 2015
Ben Stokes Eng 259 /* 276 v SA at Centurion 2016
