3 New Zealand players achieve career-best ICC ODI rankings
The latest ICC ODI Player Rankings incorporates the recently concluded series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, which New Zealand won by 3-1.The series was dominated by New Zealand’s opener Martin Guptill and fast bowler Matt Henry.
Guptill finished the series with 331 runs, including one century and two half-centuries, which has put him in a career-best seventh position after rising eight places, while Henry has blasted his way into the top 10 for the first time in his career in the eighth position after his 13 wickets gave him a lift of 44 places. Mitchell McClenaghan was the other big mover after he has gained 22 places to sit just outside the top 20 in 21st position. McClenaghan took six wickets in the series.
The series win means New Zealand has retained its fourth place while Sri Lanka has stayed in the fifth position. Only 17 points separate second-ranked India with seventh-ranked Bangladesh.
Afghanistan’s second successive series win over Zimbabwe has given it 10th position on the ICC ODI Team Championship. After defeating the African side by 3-2 in Bulawayo in October 2015, Afghanistan wrapped up the return series by the same margin in Sharjah on Wednesday.
Afghanistan had started the series in 12th position and had moved to 10th after taking a 2-0 lead. But it dropped back to 12th when Zimbabwe won the third and fourth One-Day Internationals. A narrow two-wicket victory with two balls to spare meant Afghanistan finished not only reclaimed the 10th position but for the first time finished in a series above Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan now has 47 points and it trails ninth-ranked West Indies by 39 points. In contrast, Zimbabwe is 12th but only two points separate it from 10th-ranked Afghanistan.
The star of Afghanistan’s series win was its wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad, who finished with 237 runs. This performance is clearly reflected in the latest ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsman as the 27-year-old batsman has rocketed 39 places to 42nd in the latest charts.
Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza was the top-scorer of the series with 266 runs for which he has been rewarded with a rise of 14 places that has put him in 56th position.
Afghanistan bowlers have also made big strides in the latest player rankings.
Afghanistan’s Mohammad Nabi, who took eight wickets in the series, has vaulted 20 places and is now sitting in 23rd position, while his team-mate Hamza Hotak, who was the leading wicket-taker with 11 wickets, has jumped 59 places to 25th.
Dawlat Zadran and Mirwais Ashraf have also improved their rankings. Dawlat’s 10 wickets have helped him rise four places to 29th while Mirwais Ashraf has gained 27 places and is now in 31st position after finishing the series with eight wickets.
ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 7 January 2016)
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Australia | 127 |
| 2 | India | 114 |
| 3 | South Africa | 112 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 111 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 104 |
| 6 | England | 101 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 97 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 87 |
| 9 | West Indies | 86 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 47 |
| 11 | Ireland | 46 |
ICC ODI PLAYER RANKINGS (as on 7 January, after the New Zealand-Sri Lanka and Afghanistan-Zimbabwe series)
Batsmen (Top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | ( - ) | AB de Villiers | SA | 900 |
| 2 | ( - ) | Virat Kohli | Ind | 804 |
| 3 | (+2) | Hashim Amla | SA | 776 |
| 4 | (-1) | Kane Williamson | NZ | 770 |
| 5 | (-1) | T.Dilshan | SL | 760 |
| 6 | ( - ) | MS Dhoni | Ind | 741 |
| 7 | ( - ) | Shikhar Dhawan | Ind | 730 |
| 8 | (+7) | Martin Guptill | NZ | 722! |
| 9 | (-1) | Ross Taylor | NZ | 720 |
| 10 | (-1) | Glenn Maxwell | Aus | 717 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | ( - ) | Mitchell Starc | Aus | 713 |
| 2 | ( - ) | Trent Boult | NZ | 706* |
| 3 | ( - ) | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 699 |
| 4 | ( - ) | Imran Tahir | SA | 688 |
| 5 | ( - ) | Dale Steyn | SA | 682 |
| 6 | ( - ) | Mitchell Johnson | Aus | 672 |
| 7 | ( - ) | Morne Morkel | SA | 666 |
| 8 | (+44) | Matt Henry | NZ | 650*! |
| 9 | (-1) | Saeed Ajmal | Pak | 642 |
| 10 | (-1) | R. Ashwin | Ind | 640 |
All-rounders (Top 5)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Points |
| 1 | ( - ) | Shakib Al Hasan | Ban | 416 |
| 2 | (+1) | Mohammad Hafeez | Pak | 356 |
| 3 | (-1) | Tillakaratne Dilshan | SL | 349 |
| 4 | (+1) | Glenn Maxwell | Aus | 348 |
| 5 | (+1) | James Faulkner | Aus | 340* |
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.
!indicates career-highest rating