ICC ODI Rankings: Virat Kohli Retains Number One Spot, Opportunity For Sri Lanka To Seal Direct Place In World Cup 2019

Virat Kohli has retained his top-position in the ODI rankings for the batsmen as per the latest rankings released by the International Cricket Council on Friday (August 18). The India captain will have a chance to further strengthen his grip at the top during the upcoming five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, starting in Dambulla on Sunday (August 20). With 873 points, Kohli leads second-placed David Warner by 12 points.

Former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the second-highest Indian batsman in the 50-over format. The 35-year old is at 13th position and is followed by openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma at 13th and 14th respectively.

Right-arm pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the highest-ranked Indian bowlers in ODIs at 13th followed left-arm spinner Axar Patel at 20th. Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the West Indies series, is at 31st. South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir is leading the bowlers’ list.

In the ODI team rankings, Virat Kohli & Co. are at number three behind South Africa and Australia respectively. The Men in Blue, meanwhile, need to win the series against Sri Lanka by at least a margin of 4-1 to retain their number three spot ahead of England. With 114 points, India are leading England by just a solitary point and even if they win the series 3-2, they will fall behind England on decimal points.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will have a chance to seal their spot for the ICC World Cup 2019 in England. The islanders, who were thrashed 3-0 in the Test series, need to win at least two games against the visitors to stave off challenge from West Indies.

The cut-off date for direct qualification is September 30 and Sri Lanka are currently placed eighth with 88 points, 10 points ahead of West Indies. The bottom four teams will have to play a Qualifying event to play the main event in England.

If  the island nation lose the series by 4-1, they will finish the series on 88 points and West Indies can topple them on decimal points if they win all their upcoming six matches. On the other hand, Jason Holder & Co. will be out of the race for the direct qualification if they lost to Ireland as from there, the two-time world champions will at best reach 86 points and remain behind Sri Lanka on decimal points, even if Sri Lanka are whitewashed by India.