Fourth-ranked Sri Lanka can hope to move up a place to third on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings table if it beats Pakistan in a five-match ODI series, starting on 18 December in Sharjah.
But for that to happen, Sri Lanka (110 ratings points) will need to win the series against sixth-placed Pakistan (100 ratings points) by 4-1 or better. Irrespective of the outcome of the series, Pakistan will remain in sixth position.
In a sharp contrast, if Pakistan wins the series then Sri Lanka will drop down to fifth place.
The closest Pakistan will come to Sri Lanka would be if it sweeps the series 5-0. In such a scenario, Sri Lanka and Pakistan will be on par with 105 ratings points, but Angelo Mathews’ side will be ranked above Misbah-ul-Haq’s men when ratings are calculated beyond decimal point.
Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Kumar Sangakkara will start the series as the highest-ranked batsman on either side on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.
The only other batsmen on either side inside the top 20 are Tillakratne Dilshan in seventh and Misbah-ul-Haq in ninth.
Outside the top 20, the other batsmen likely to be seen in action are Mahela Jayawardena in 22nd, Umar Akmal in 27th, Mohammad Hafeez in 34th, Angelo Mathews in 36th, Ahmed Shehzad in 44th, Dinesh Chandimal in 47th, Lahiru Thirimanne in 52nd and Shahid Afridi in 54th.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers leads the batting table with India’s Virat Kohli in second place and Hashim Amla in third position.
Meanwhile, Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal starts the series as the number-one ranked bowler on the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.
In the absence of sixth-ranked Rangana Herath, Saeed Ajmal will be the only bowler on either side to feature inside the top 10.
Other bowlers sitting inside the top 20 include Mohammad Hafeez in 12th, Nuwan Kulasekara in 16th and Junaid Khan in 19th.
Outside the top 20, bowlers likely to play are Mathews in 23rd, Shahid Afridi in 29th, Lasith Malinga in 30th, Ajantha Mendis in 45th, Thisara Perera in 47th, Abdur Rehman in 53rd, Tillakaratne Dilshan in 54th and Sachitra Senanayake in 59th.
Forthcoming fixtures:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka
18 Dec: First ODI, Sharjah (d/n)
20 Dec: Second ODI, Dubai (d/n)
22 De: Third ODI, Sharjah (d/n)
25 Dec: Fourth ODI, Abu Dhabi (d/n)
27 Dec: Fifth ODI, Abu Dhabi (d/n)
Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 16 December before Pakistan-Sri Lanka series)
Rank Team Rating
1 India 120
2 Australia 114
3 England 111
4 Sri Lanka 110
5 South Africa 110
6 Pakistan 100
7 West Indies 90
8 New Zealand 85
9 Bangladesh 83
10 Zimbabwe 55
11 Ireland 38
12 Netherlands 13
13 Kenya 10
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings (as on 16 December before Pakistan-Sri Lanka series)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 AB de Villiers SA 872 49.46 883 v Ind at Cardiff 2013
2 Virat Kohli Ind 859 51.54 882 v WI at Visakhapatnam 2013
3 Hashim Amla SA 839 53.34 901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012
4 George Bailey Aus 835*! 54.96 835 v Ind at Bengaluru 2013
5 K Sangakkara SL 830 40.22 840 v NZ at Hambantota 2013
6 MS Dhoni Ind 789 52.88 836 v Aus at Delhi 2009
7 T Dilshan SL 766! 38.01 766 v NZ at Dambulla 2013
8 Jonathan Trott Eng 754 51.25 796 v SA at The Oval 2013
9 Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 722 44.56 728 v Zim at Harare 2013
10 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 717* 43.96 736 v WI at Kanpur 2013
11 Shane Watson Aus 708 41.71 773 v SL at Hambantota 2011
12 Michael Clarke Aus 677 45.12 750 v SL at Melbourne 2008
13 Ross Taylor NZ 676 39.15 693 v Aus at Adelaide 2009
14 Quinton de Kock SA 672*! 46.31 672 v Ind at Centurion 2013
15 Alastair Cook Eng 661 38.85 752 v Aus at Lord’s 2012
16 Eoin Morgan Ire/Eng 648 39.56 690 v Aus at The Oval 2010
17 Martin Guptill NZ 641 39.92 684 v Zim at Napier 2012
18 Rohit Sharma Ind 639 36.06 672 v WI at Kochi 2013
19 Paul Stirling Ire 635 37.59 693 v Pak at Dublin 2013
20 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 627 35.12 683 v Pak at Mirpur 2012
Selected Rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
22 M Jayawardena SL 625 33.33 738 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2001
27 Umar Akmal Pak 616 36.21 702 v Afg at Sharjah 2012
34 M Hafeez Pak 570 28.27 599 v SA at Dubai 2013
36 Angelo Mathews SL 567 34.22 598 v Aus at Hambantota 2011
44 Ahmed Shehzad Pak 547* 29.67 556 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
47 D Chandimal SL 538 30.37 667 v Aus at Adelaide 2012
52 L Thirimanne SL 529 28.19 530 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2013
54 Shahid Afridi Pak 528 23.28 663 v Ind at Lahore 1997
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Rating
1 Saeed Ajmal Pak 763 22.45 4.14 810 v SA at Centurion 2013
2 Dale Steyn SA 742 25.49 4.79 746 v Ind at Durban 2013
3 Sunil Narine WI 730 25.67 4.14 791 v SL at Jamaica 2013
4 Steven Finn Eng 708 27.74 4.71 755 v NZ at Auckland 2013
5 James Anderson Eng 696 29.11 4.97 719 v SA at The Oval 2013
6 Rangana Herath SL 695 32.24 4.31 703 v SA at Pallekele 2013
7 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 692 32.21 4.72 738 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013
8 L Tsotsobe SA 674 24.96 4.75 743 v NZ at Auckland 2012
9 Morne Morkel SA 673 23.54 4.78 717 v SL at East London 2012
10 Mitchell Johnson Aus 670 25.37 4.82 724 v Ban at Darwin 2008
11 Clint McKay Aus 650 24.42 4.77 709 v Eng at Cardiff 2013
12 M Hafeez Pak 649 34.88 4.01 769 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
13 Kyle Mills NZ 648 26.48 4.71 722 v Aus at Melbourne 2009
14 Abdur Razzak Ban 643 28.07 4.49 679 v Zim at Bulawayo 2013
15 Kemar Roach WI 632 26.77 4.92 650 v Pak at St Lucia 2013
16 N Kulasekara SL 627 32.18 4.64 727 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2009
17 R Ashwin Ind 619 32.23 4.93 691 v SL at Hambantota 2012
18 Daniel Vettori NZ 613 31.50 4.11 788 v Eng at Durham 2008
19 Junaid Khan Pak 612* 23.63 4.90 615 v SA at Port Elizabeth 2013
20 Ryan McLaren SA 605 28.11 5.11 617 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
Selected Rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Ave Econ HS Rating
23 Angelo Mathews SL 597 34.97 4.54 649 v Ind at Trinidad 2013
29 Shahid Afridi Pak 582 33.60 4.61 673 v Ban at Mirpur 2011
30 Lasith Malinga SL 580 26.76 5.11 675 v Ban at Colombo (RPS) 2007
45 Ajantha Mendis SL 513 20.82 4.40 648 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2011
47 Thisara Perera SL 504 26.35 5.45 610 v Ind at Colombo (RPS) 2012
53 Abdur Rehman Pak 481* 36.53 4.20 496 v Zim at Harare 2013
54 T Dilshan SL 480 46.01 4.71 497 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2013
59 S Senanayake SL 466*! 30.50 4.69 466 v NZ at Dambulla 2013
80 Sohail Tanvir Pak 410 34.45 5.15 633 v WI at Abu Dhabi 2008
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 376 453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
2= Shane Watson Aus 370 433 v WI at St Lucia 2012
M Hafeez Pak 370 438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
4 T Dilshan SL 368 373 v NZ at Hambantota 2013
5 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 346 378 v Eng at Edgbaston 2013
! Indicates career-highest rating
* Indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs
