ICC Test Rankings: Jonny Bairstow looks set to break into the top 10 in the upcoming series against Pakistan

 Bairstow has been the best Test batsman in 2016

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen, England’s Joe Root will start as the highest-ranked batsman from either side in fourth place. The Yorkshire batsman will be keen to convert his poor run of form, which has seen him drop two places and 52 points following an ordinary series against Sri Lanka.

Captain Alastair Cook (12th) and in-form Jonny Bairstow (18th) are the other England batsmen to feature inside the top 20, who along with Ben Stokes (37th) and Moeen Ali (39th) will be aiming to make upward movements.

Bairstow has a chance to break into the top 10 if he continues the kind of form he showed in the recent home series against Sri Lanka, in which he aggregated 387 runs including an unbeaten 167 at Lord’s.

Pakistan boasts five batsmen inside the top 20, while opener Mohammad Hafeez is just outside the top 20 in 22nd place.

Younus Khan, who in the series against England in the UAE last season had become his country’s first batsman to complete 9,000 Test runs, is the highest-ranked batsman in the fifth position. He trails Root by 11 points and will be eyeing a top three finish by the time the series concludes in mid-August at The Oval.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq is in 10th position and he is followed by Asad Shafiq (13th), Sarfraz Ahmed (19th) and Azhar Ali (20th).

Australia’s Steve Smith leads the field and he is followed by Kane Williamson of New Zealand and South Africa’s Hashim Amla.

ICC Test Rankings for Batsmen:

Rank	Player (Country)	Points
1	Steve Smith (Australia)	925
2	Kane Williamson (New Zealand)	868
3	Hashim Amla (South Africa)	860
4	Joe Root (England)	837
5	Younus Khan (Pakistan)	826
6	AB de Villiers (South Africa)	818
7	Adam Voges (Australia)	811
8	David Warner (Australia)	800
9	Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)	765
10	Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)	764
11	Ajinkya Rahane (India)	753
14	Virat Kohli (India)	725