Thursday, May 21, 2009

Dhoni's top spot in ICC ODI ranking under threat

India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's numero uno status in ICC ODI batsmen's ranking is under threat as few good knocks from West Indies captain Chris Gayle or his teammate Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the upcoming England series may topple him from the top spot.

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Dhoni is currently the only batsman above the 800-point mark but Gayle is not too far behind as he trails the Indian by 33 points, while Chanderpaul is another four points behind which means the order could potentially change with a couple of strong performances by the two West Indian cricketers.

However, failure of the pair would directly benefit the fourth-placed Yuvraj Singh of India and Australia's Michael Hussey in fifth position who are waiting to pounce on any opportunity that comes their way.

Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar is 13th while team-mate Virender Sehwag (7th) and Gautam Gambhir (17th) are the other Indians in the top 20.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan continues to be the only Indian in the top-20 bowlers' list, headed by Sri Lankan Nuwan Kulasekara.

Among all-rounders, Yuvraj Singh remains to be the only Indian with Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan leading the list.

In the team championships, India is third behind Australia and table toppers South Africa.