Rank Player Team
1 Mahendra Dhoni Ind
2 Ricky Ponting Aus
3 Adam Gilchrist Aus
4 Andrew Symonds Aus
5 Graeme Smith SA
6 Mike Hussey Aus
7 Kevin Pietersen Eng
8 K.C.Sangakkara SL
9 Rahul Dravid Ind
10 Yuvraj Singh Ind
Three Indian players occupy a position in the top 10
Pakistan have three batsmen in the top 25
India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni has moved to the top of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.
Dhoni was in second spot behind Ricky Ponting before the two-match ODI series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi that finished on Wednesday night.
But his 59 in India’s series-levelling win in the second match has been enough to move him one rating point ahead of the Australian captain.
It caps a remarkably rapid rise for the 24 year-old from Bihar because he only made his ODI debut in December 2004 but his statistics provide compelling support for his position on top of the world.
In 42 matches he averages 52.76 with two hundreds and eight fifties and, equally significantly, he has made those runs at an awesome strike-rate of 103 runs per hundred balls.
Dhoni is one of three India batsmen in the top 10 places of the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen with captain Rahul Dravid ninth (up two places) and Yuvraj Singh (10th) also featuring.
Further down the list are the injured Sachin Tendulkar in joint 21st spot with Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Virender Sehwag, whose return to form with 73 on Wednesday has seen him move back up four places to joint 24th position, alongside England’s Andrew Strauss.
Irfan Pathan remains India’s top-ranked bowler in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers and has moved up one spot to third in the list with only Shaun Pollock of South Africa and Australia’s Glenn McGrath ahead of him.
Pathan remains in third position in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders behind Pollock and England’s Andrew Flintoff but he now has his best-ever haul of rating points.
The other India player in the bowling top 10 is spinner Harbhajan Singh, in 10th position, but he slipped three spots as a result of his performances in Abu Dhabi. However, several other Indian bowlers are on the way up the list.
Ajit Agarkar is up four spots to 21st position, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth rises 12 places to be joint 54th (alongside Bangladesh’s Manjural Islam Rana) and Ramesh Powar has broken into the top 100, up 19 places to 82nd in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.
Pakistan have three batsmen in the top 25 with captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf in joint 15th position and Shoaib Malik in 23rd spot. Younis Khan, whose unbeaten 71 guided his side to victory on Tuesday, is up eight places to joint 44th alongside Sri Lanka’s Russel Arnold.
The leading Pakistan bowler in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers is Naved-ul-Hasan, who remains unchanged in 12th position while Shoaib Malik is in fifth spot in the all-rounder list.
The shared two-match series means India and Pakistan remain unchanged in the LG ICC ODI Championship table in third and fourth places respectively.
India trail second-placed South Africa by three points and are 16 points behind leaders Australia while Pakistan are two points back from India.
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
We are talking about top 100 places........ with some 10 teams and 20 players each we are looking at pool of 200 players, how come Powar is at 88th position........
Somebody clear the confusion please...
My mistake 82nd position, though question as Maihu also asks below remains........
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
:biggthumb Well Done Dhoni !!!.....as I said before the next Gilchrist (or even better) in the making....still the real test for him will be when he plays against the Aussies and the SAFs in their own den(not to forget the seaming condns in Eng)...he will be playing in WI shortly and will get a clear indication of his talent...still i believe it's early days....BUT if he keeps performing like this..he will do it...Again..Well Done Dhoni !!!....:biggthumb
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
..no question...just a discussion on Dhoni's rise....Okay I'll put a question...Who will be the best Wicket keeper-Batsman or rather Batsman-wicketkeeper going into the WorldCup 2007 ?
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
Yep, not he is going to WI, with WI bowling… good chances that he will score.
WHat’s been proved that he is good player..
If he plays good against Australia in Australia and England in England, than he will be stepping towards greatness i.e. Gilchrist…
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
dhoni on comparision with gilchrist
"Adam Gilchrist has proved himself consistently over a long period of time. I have played only 16 months of international cricket; hence, I think that the comparison cannot be justified. I just hope that people can recognize me as Mahendra Singh Dhoni only."
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
Kudos to Dhoni, I have rarely seen him fail when his teams needs him, be it opening the batting or coming one down or even down the order. Great prospect for India.
Re: Dhoni goes to the top of LG ICC Player Rankings
I already said that in the WC challenger to Aussies thread that India's chances are great if players like Dhoni, Yuvraj and Irfan also keep blasting like they do, to add more strength to the already handsome looking Indian batting.
Dhoni has started a new era of wicket keeper + blaster. A very good entertainer to add to the game of cricket. Hats off!
