ICC Test Rankings: Opportunity for Indian players to gain lost ground
Australia opener David Warner, in sixth place, will start the series as the highest-ranked batsman from either side in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen. The left-hander is five rating points adrift of South Africa’s Hashim Amla.
In all, there are three Australia batsmen in the top 20, with Michael Clarke (11th) and Steven Smith (13th) also aiming for upwards movement.
Heading into the series, India’s highest-ranked batsmen are Cheteshwar Pujara (17th), Virat Kohli (27th) and MS Dhoni (30th).
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Ryan Harris (second) is the highest ranked bowler, 54 points behind number-one ranked Dale Steyn of South Africa and two places ahead of his team-mate Mitchell Johnson (fourth).
India’s highest-ranked bowler is 28-year-old off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (12th), two rankings spots ahead of Australia’s Peter Siddle.
India’s Ashwin is in second position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, 41 points adrift of Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson lies in fifth place, 15 points shy of England’s Stuart Broad.
Batsmen:
| Rank | Player | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kumar Sangakkara | 915 |
| 2 | AB de Villiers | 888 |
| 3 | Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 887 |
| 4 | Angelo Mathews | 873 |
| 5 | Hashim Amla | 863 |
| 6 | David Warner | 858 |
| 7 | Younus Khan | 818 |
| 8 | Joe Root | 789 |
| 9 | Ross Taylor | 783 |
| 10 | Misbah-ul-Haq | 777 |
Bowlers:
| Rank | Player | Rating |
| 1 | Dale Steyn | 907 |
| 2 | Ryan Harris | 853 |
| 3 | Rangana Herath | 851 |
| 4 | Mitchell Johnson | 844 |
| 5 | James Anderson | 806 |
| 6 | Vernon Philander | 785 |
| 7 | Stuart Broad | 774 |
| 8 | Kemar Roach | 768 |
| 9 | Trent Boult | 762 |
| 10 | Tim Southee | 744 |