KARACHI: In the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batting, Younus Khan is in number-one position and will be aiming to become the 25th batsman in history to reach the 900-point mark.
The 31-year-old right-handed batsman is just 20 points short of becoming the second Pakistan batsman after Mohammd Yousuf to achieve the rare distinction.
Younus had first gone to the top of the batting chart after scoring 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February before regaining the number-one position from Shivanarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies in May.
Conversely, if Younus fails to perform to his high standards and at the same time second-placed Kumar Sangakkara excels with the bat, there is a possibility that there might be a change at the top of the order as 26 points separates the two elegant and stylish batsmen.
The other batsmen from either side in the top 20 and aiming for an upward movement are Mahela Jayawardena and Thilan Samaraweera who currently occupy sixth position and 19th positions respectively while just outside the top 20 are Tillakaratne Dilshan (24th), Kamran Akmal (28th) and Misbah-ul-Haq (30th).
Mohammad Yousuf, who won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as the 2007 Cricketer of the Year at the LG ICC Awards in Johannesburg, is set to return to the batting rankings in the top five. If he performs well with the bat, he will go to third position or even higher.
Yousuf was second when he was removed from the rankings table along with Abdul Razzaq early in 2009 as Pakistan had not played a Test match since before the qualification date for the rankings. A player loses one per cent of his points for each Test that he misses for his country and his ratings are still calculated even when he does not appear in the rankings.
In the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings for bowlers, Sri Lanka’s iconic spinner Muttiah Muralidaran is just ahead of South Africa’s Dale Steyn and will be hoping to extend the advantage over the Proteas’ fast bowler.
With just 11 points separating the two bowlers, Steyn can regain the number-one position he last held in April 2008 if Muralidaran fails to put up a strong performance in the first Test.
Umar Gul is the highest-ranked Pakistan bowler in 14th spot with leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in 19th position.
Sri Lanka’s spin sensation Ajantha Mendis is in 25th position and has a good chance of breaking into the top 20 for the first time in his career even though he is still in the rankings qualification period for bowlers. A bowler qualifies for a full rating when he reaches 100 Test wickets and the 24-year-old from Moratuwa has so far taken 34 wickets in six Tests.
South Africa’s Jacques Kallis leads the Reliance Mobile ICC Test Player Rankings for all-rounders, followed by Johnson in second and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori in third.
Younis tops ICC Test batting rankings - GEO.tv
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