ICC ODI Rankings: Indian and Australian bowlers plummet, Trent Boult becomes new No.1 bowler

The Australia-India series, in which a total of 3,159 runs were scored, proved to be a difficult one for the bowlers and this is reflected in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for ODI Bowlers in which most of the top-ranked bowlers have been unable to defend their pre-series rankings.

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has dropped two places to 11th, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has slipped seven places to 20th, James Faulkner has plummeted seven places to 28th, Axar Patel has fallen four places to 33rd and Umesh Yadav has plunged five places to 41st.

The only bowlers inside the top 50 to improve their rankings are India’s Ravindra Jadeja, who is in 22nd place (up by two places), and Hastings, who is sitting in 49th position (up by 62 places). Outside the top 50, Ishant Sharma has gained 15 places and is now in 71st spot.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc missed the series against India, resulting in him dropping from the number-one position. Starc had moved to the top after he bowled Australia to the ICC Cricket World Cup victory last year in March.

Starc’s slip means New Zealand’s Trent Boult will start the three-match series against Pakistan as the number-one ranked bowler. He leads Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, in second place, by seven points.

In the series against Pakistan, New Zealand will have an opportunity to move ahead of third-ranked South Africa. However, to make it happen, it will have to win all three matches against Pakistan.

Since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Pakistan has played 18 ODIs in which it has won eight and lost nine (one no-result). In contrast, New Zealand has played 16 ODIs in the same period and has won eight and lost seven (one no-result). In this background, there is very little to choose between the two sides, which are separated by 24 points on the MRF Tyres ICC ODI Team Championship table.

ICC ODI Rankings for bowlers (As on 24th January, ‘16)

Rank	Player	Points
1	Trent Boult	706
2	Shakib Al Hasan	699
3	Mitchell Starc	695
4	Imran Tahir	688
5	Dale Steyn	682
6	Morne Morkel	666
7	Matt Henry	650
8	Saeed Ajmal	642
9	James Anderson	621
10	Mohammad Irfan	620