India unlikely to ascend in ICC ODI rankings even after whitewashing Zimbabwe

Dubai: Fourth-placed India are unlikely to move up in the ICC ODI rankings even if they blank Zimbabwe in the three-match series beginning in Harare on 11 June. If India win all the matches against 11th-ranked Zimbabwe, then they will gain one point and move to 110. If India win the series 2-1, then MS Dhoni’s side will slip to 108 points and Zimbabwe will move from 47 to 48 points. Currently, India are five points ahead of fifth-placed Sri Lanka and behind leaders Australia (124 points), New Zealand (113) and South Africa (112). [caption id=“attachment_2586086” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  MS Dhoni will be worried about India’s bowling. AP[/caption] Eighth-ranked West Indies will aim to create some daylight between itself and ninth-ranked Pakistan when they host world champions Australia and third-ranked South Africa in a tri-series from 3 June. A total of 10 matches will be played in the triple-league format with the top two sides progressing to the final. West Indies lead Pakistan by just one point, but trails Australia by 36 points and South Africa by 24 points. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, every West Indies win over Australia or South Africa will earn them valuable points. If Australia remain unbeaten in the series, then they will collect five points and move to 129 points, while South Africa will gain six points and rise to 118 points if they make a clean sweep of the series. However, the West Indies will vault from 88 points to 106 points (a gain of 18 points) if they win all their seven matches. Meanwhile, South Africa captain AB de Villiers and Sunil Narine of the West Indies will start the ODI season as the number-one batsman and bowler, respectively. De Villiers leads India’s Virat Kohli, who will miss the Zimbabwe tour, by 75 points, while third-ranked Hashim Amla and fourth-ranked Quinton de Kock are separated by just three points. Just outside the top 10, in 11th position, is Faf du Plessis. Australia have no batsman inside the top 10 but occupies batting slots from 14-18. Glen Maxwell is his side’s highest-ranked batsman in 14th position, followed by David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steve Smith and George Bailey. The five batsmen are separated by just 13 points. In the bowlers’ chart, a returning Mitchell Starc is the second highest-ranked bowler to feature in the tri-series after Narine. Starc, who was adjudged the player of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, last played an ODI against England in Manchester in 2015 and will start in fourth place — 49 points behind Narine. Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh is the number-one ranked all-rounder, while Australia’s fifth-ranked James Faulkner will aim to make some upward movement.