South Africa fast bowler Duanne Olivier has reached a career-best 24th position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after another stellar performance in the final Test in Johannesburg, which his side won by 107 runs to complete a 3-0 series sweep over Pakistan.
- Babar, Faheem and Imam among those to attain career-best rankings in latest update
Olivier’s match haul of eight for 125 in the final game has lifted him eight slots in the list led by his compatriot Kagiso Rabada. His 24 wickets in the series not only got him the player of the series award, but also see him gain 29 slots overall in the rankings after starting the series in 53rd place.
South Africa, who have reached second position in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankingsafter their impressive series victory, also had their batsmen move up the rankings with Johannesburg man of the match Quinton de Kock (18 and 129 runs in his two innings) gaining 12 berths to reach 14th position. Former captain Hashim Amla (up three places to 10th) and opener Aiden Markram (up two places to eighth) have also made significant gains.
For Pakistan, Babar Azam has moved up five places to a career-best 20th position and Asad Shafiq is not far behind after inching up one slot to 23rd place. Openers Imam-ul-Haq (up 23 places to 73rd) and Shan Masood (up two places to 63rd) have also reached career-best positions.
Among their bowlers, Mohammad Amir has gained three slots to reach 31st position while other fast bowler Faheem Ashraf has lifted 48 slots to a career-best 58th position after finishing with six wickets in the match. Spinner Shadab Khan has also reached a career-best place after gaining 23 places to reach 78th in the list.
The emphatic series win has helped South Africa overtake New Zealand and England in the team rankings. South Africa have gained four points to reach 110 points, two points above England in the list led by India with 116 points. Pakistan have slipped behind Sri Lanka to seventh place and 88 points.
MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 15 January, after the South Africa-Pakistan series):
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | India | 116 |
| 2 | South Africa | 110 (+4) |
| 3 | England | 108 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 107 |
| 5 | Australia | 101 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 91 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 88 (-4) |
| 8 | West Indies | 70 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 69 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 13 |
| 11 | Afghanistan | 00 |
| 12 | Ireland | 00 |
MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings (as of 15 January, after the Johannesburg Test)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | Virat Kohli | Ind | 922 | 53.76 | 937 v Eng at Southampton 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | K. Williamson | NZ | 897 | 51.44 | 915 v SL at Wellington 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | C. Pujara | Ind | 881 | 51.18 | 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 4 | ( – ) | Steve Smith | Aus | 874 | 61.37 | 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 5 | ( – ) | Joe Root | Eng | 807 | 50.44 | 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 6 | ( – ) | David Warner | Aus | 772 | 48.20 | 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 7 | ( – ) | Henry Nicholls | NZ | 763*! | 43.54 | 763 v SL at Christchurch 2018 |
| 8 | (+2) | Aiden Markram | SA | 741* | 45.96 | 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 9 | ( – ) | D. Karunaratne | SL | 715 | 37.08 | 754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018 |
| 10 | (+3) | Hashim Amla | SA | 711 | 47.33 | 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 14 | (+12) | Q. de Kock | SA | 683 | 38.17 | 802 v NZ at Hamilton 2017 |
| 20 | (+5) | Babar Azam | Pak | 658! | 35.28 | 658 v SA at Johannesburg 2019 |
| 23= | (+1) | Asad Shafiq | Pak | 643 | 38.94 | 758 v Eng at Lord’s 2016 |
| 63 | (+2) | Shan Masood | Pak | 470*! | 26.43 | 470 v SA at Johannesburg 2019 |
| 73 | (+23) | Imam-ul-Haq | Pak | 433*! | 28.41 | 433 v SA at Johannesburg 2019 |
| 99 | (+11) | T. de Bruyn | SA | 332*! | 20.35 | 332 v Pak at Johannesburg 2019 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | K. Rabada | SA | 882 | 21.41 | 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 2 | ( – ) | J. Anderson | Eng | 874 | 26.98 | 903 v Ind at Lord’s 2018 |
| 3 | ( – ) | V. Philander | SA | 809 | 21.73 | 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013 |
| 4 | (-1) | Pat Cummins | Aus | 804* | 24.51 | 836 v Ind at Melbourne 2018 |
| 5 | ( – ) | R. Jadeja | Ind | 794 | 23.68 | 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017 |
| 6 | (+1) | Trent Boult | NZ | 771 | 27.90 | 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015 |
| 7 | (-1) | M. Abbas | Pak | 770* | 18.86 | 838 v NZ at Abu Dhabi 2018 |
| 8 | ( – ) | Tim Southee | NZ | 767 | 29.93 | 799 v Win at Jamaica 2014 |
| 9 | ( – ) | R. Ashwin | Ind | 763 | 25.43 | 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016 |
| 10 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 751* | 28.50 | 766 v Ind at Hyderabad 2018 |
Other selected rankings
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Avge | Highest Rating |
| 24 | (+8) | D. Olivier | SA | 642*! | 18.19 | 642 v Pak at Johannesburg 2019 |
| 31= | (+3) | M. Amir | Pak | 573* | 30.47 | 658 v Eng at Lord’s 2010 |
| 58 | (+48) | F. Ashraf | Pak | 292*! | 26.09 | 292 v SA at Johannesburg 2019 |
| 78 | (+23) | Shadab Khan | Pak | 202*! | 38.83 | 202 v SA at Johannesburg 2019 |
All-rounders (top five)
| Rank | (+/-) | Player | Team | Pts | Highest Rating |
| 1 | ( – ) | S. Al Hasan | Ban | 415 | 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 2 | ( – ) | R. Jadeja | Ind | 387 | 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 3 | ( – ) | Jason Holder | Win | 365/* | 381 v Ind at Hyderabad 2018 |
| 4 | (+1) | Ben Stokes | Eng | 342 | 396 v Win at Lord’s 2017 |
| 5 | (-1) | V. Philander | SA | 341 | 378 v SL at Galle 2018 |
*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
