AB de Villiers joins Amla on top of ODI rankings, Steyn storms back to top 10

South Africa captain AB de Villiers has joined team-mate Hashim Amla at the top of the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings for batsmen, following his man of the series performances in the five-match series against Pakistan.

The latest rankings were released on Monday after South Africa’s 3-2 series win over Pakistan.

De Villiers was the highest run-getter for either side, with 367 runs from five matches at an average of 91.75. While he has regained the top spot he last enjoyed in May 2010, his current rating of 882 is his best-ever to date.

India’s Virat Kohli is ranked third on the batting table, while Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan has moved up three places to seventh.

Apart from de Villiers, there is also good news for two other captains, Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan and Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor who have made big strides in the latest rankings.

Misbah has been rewarded for being the highest run-getter for his side in the series against South Africa with a jump of 10 places that has put him in his career-best of 18th, while Taylor has also moved up a place to be back in the top 20.

Batsmen still outside the top 20 but making steady progress in the right direction are Tamim Iqbal in 23rd (up by three), Angelo Mathews in 34th (up by one), Darren Bravo in 39th (up by one), Shahid Afridi in 42nd (up by six), Nasir Hossain in 48th (up by 16), Alex Obanda in 53rd (up by four), Collins Obuya in 56th (up by three), Faf du Plessis in 58th (up by eight) and Tanmay Mishra in 62nd (up by seven).

Meanwhile, South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has returned to top 10 of the bowlers’ list after a good series against Pakistan. Steyn jumped nine places to a joint eighth with teammate Morne Morkel.

The others to move up the order include Angelo Mathews in 21st (up by four), Thisara Perera in 35th (up by two), Junaid Khan in 38th (up by 18) and Ryan McLaren in 45th (up by 46).

Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal continues to lead the bowlers’ table, with West Indies spinner Sunil Narine in second place and England paceman Steven Finn in third place.