Australia opener Usman Khawaja has moved into the top 10 of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen for the first time, after a remarkable performance in the first Test in Dubai helped salvage a draw against Pakistan.
The left-handed opener, who struck 85 and 141 to claim the player of the match award on Thursday and advance nine places, had a previous best ranking of 11th in January 2017, when he attained a career-best 747 rating points.
Captain Tim Paine is another Australia batsman to move up as his unbeaten 61 in the second innings has taken him up two slots to 49 in the latest update, which also takes into account the first Test in Rajkot, where India completed their biggest ever victory, defeating the West Indies by an innings and 272 runs.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez has re-entered the rankings at 45th place after marking his return to Test cricket with a century. Asad Shafiq (up five places to 20th), Harris Sohail (up 17 slots to 57th) and Imam-ul-Haq (up 22 places to 88th) are the others to make headway among batsmen while fast bowler Mohammad Abbas has gained eight places to reach a career-best 13th position after finishing with seven wickets in the match.
Debutants Aaron Finch of Australia and Prithvi Shaw of India have made fine entries into the Test rankings – entering the list of batsmen at 72nd and 73rd positions, respectively. Finch slammed 62 and 49 in Dubai while opener Shaw, who led India to victory in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year in New Zealand, had a fine 134 to show in Rajkot.
India captain Virat Kohli’s century has helped him consolidate his position at the top of the rankings and he has moved to within one point of his highest rating point of 937 while spinner Kuldeep Yadav’s six wickets in the match, including a haul of five for 57 in the second innings, has lifted him 16 places to 52nd position.
Ravindra Jadeja’s 100 not out has lifted him six places to 51st among batsmen, and with him also claiming four wickets in the match, he has bridged the gap with top-ranked Shakib Al Hasan to three points in the list of all-rounders.
For the West Indies, Roston Chase has moved up four places to 41st position and Kieran Powell has advanced five slots to 54th position.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 12 October, following the Rajkot and Dubai Tests):
BATSMEN (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 936 54.66 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018
2 ( - ) Steve Smith Aus 919 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018
3 ( - ) Kane Williamson NZ 847 50.35 893 v Aus at Perth 2015
4 ( - ) Joe Root Eng 835 51.04 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015
5 ( - ) David Warner Aus 812 48.20 880 v NZ at Perth 2015
6 ( - ) C. Pujara Ind 782 49.94 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017
7 ( - ) D. Karunaratne SL 754! 37.28 754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018
8 ( - ) D. Chandimal SL 733 44.96 755 v Win at St Lucia 2018
9 ( - ) Dean Elgar SA 724 41.05 784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
10 (+9) Usman Khawaja Aus 719 44.58 747 v Pak at Sydney 2017
11 (-1) Aiden Markram SA 703* 47.27 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018
12 (-1) Ross Taylor NZ 697 47.22 871 v Win at Hamilton 2013
13 ( - ) Hashim Amla SA 673 47.23 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
14 (+1) Faf du Plessis SA 665 42.33 734 v Ind at Centurion 2018
15 (-3) Kraigg Brathwaite Win 662 37.21 701 v Eng at Headingley 2017
16 (-2) Azhar Ali Pak 646 44.27 787 v Aus at Melbourne 2016
17 (-1) Kusal Mendis SL 641 36.78 693 v Win at St Lucia 2018
18 (-1) Jonny Bairstow Eng 637 37.19 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017
19 (+1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 632 39.69 694 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
20 (+5) Asad Shafiq Pak 617 39.68 758 v Eng at Lord's 2016
BOWLERS (top 20)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating
1 ( - ) James Anderson Eng 899 26.84 903 v Ind at Lord's 2018
2 ( - ) Kagiso Rabada SA 882 21.71 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018
3 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 826 21.54 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
4 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 818 23.44 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017
5 (+1) Trent Boult NZ 795 27.84 825 v Eng at Lord's 2015
6 (-1) Pat Cummins Aus 792* 23.81 800 v SA at Johannesburg 2018
7 ( - ) Rangana Herath SL 791 27.95 867 v Zim at Harare 2016
8 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 779 25.45 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016
9 ( - ) Neil Wagner NZ 765 28.26 785 v Win at Wellington 2017
10 ( - ) Josh Hazlewood Aus 751 26.84 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017
11 ( - ) Shannon Gabriel Win 738 30.06 757 v Ban at Jamaica 2018
12 ( - ) Stuart Broad Eng 734 28.92 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
13= (+8) M. Abbas Pak 725*! 16.89 725 v Aus at Dubai 2018
( - ) Jason Holder Win 725* 29.35 732 v Ban at Jamaica 2018
15 (-1) Tim Southee NZ 720 30.82 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014
16 ( - ) Nathan Lyon Aus 700 32.35 774 v Eng at Adelaide 2017
17 ( - ) Keshav Maharaj SA 692* 27.65 695 v Zim at Port Elizabeth 2017
18 (-4) Mitchell Starc Aus 690 28.61 805 v SA at Durban 2018
19 (+1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 665 31.87 705 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
20 (-1) Kemar Roach Win 661 28.31 774 v SA at Centurion 2014
ALL-ROUNDERS (top five)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Rating
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 420 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017
2 ( - ) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 417 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017
3 ( - ) Vernon Philander SA 370 378 v SL at Galle 2018
4 ( - ) Jason Holder Win 348/* 355 v Ban at Jamaica 2018
5 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 340 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after playing 40 Test innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets.
!indicates career-highest rating
