India wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni gained a spot to be fourth in the latest LG-ICC Player rankings for ODI batsmen released on Tuesday.
Dhoni, who was the man of the series in the one-day international series against Bangladesh, has a chance to move up to third if he continues his fine form during the Afro-Asia Cup, which begins on Tuesday with a Twenty20 challenge match followed on Wednesday by the first of three one-dayers.
The 25-year-old is just five rating points behind Australia's Mike Hussey and if he continues with his good form over the next week, he will close the gap on Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting at the top.
Skipper Rahul Dravid also moved up one place to be 15th, just one point behind South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs.
In the bowlers' chart, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, despite being out of action after being dropped for the tour of Bangladesh has climbed up one spot to share the 13th position with England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga.
The only other Indian in the bowling top-20 is Ajit Agarkar, who occupies the 16th spot.
Shaun Pollock continues to lead the pack and is set to play in the Afro-Asian Cup as a specialist batsman following a minor foot surgery.
The series will be a chance for another great Asian batsman, Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka, to move back up the table having just fallen three places to seventh position.
The Asia XI captain and Jayasuriya's Sri Lanka team-mate Mahela Jayawardene will be keen to continue his upward trend, having shot up six places to 13th spot in the latest rankings. He is now not far behind his career-best rating which he set back in 2001 during a home series against the West Indies.
Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf can use this series as an opportunity to halt his slip down the rankings. He has dropped six places and is now ranked 19th overall in the ODI listings, compared to his impressive second place in the LG ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
On the Africa side, Proteas captain Graeme Smith, unavailable for the Afro-Asian Cup as he recovers from knee surgery, is moving up the rankings again and is now level with Jayasuriya in seventh spot while Herschelle Gibbs now lies 14th.
There are also opportunities for emerging players to make names for themselves during this series. Zimbabwe's Elton Chigumbura is currently the highest-ranked batsman from his country at 38th place and he can improve on that position with a good showing.
In the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers there are opportunities for the likes of Thomas Odoyo and Peter Ongondo of Kenya, not to mention returning South Africa off-spinner Johan Botha who has been named in the Africa squad.
Shahid Afridi is possibly in the form of his life certainly with the ball and he has moved into the top 20 in the latest rankings. Although now in 18th position, he still has a long way to go to catch Shaun Pollock in top spot. Pollock is set to play in the Afro-Asian Cup as a specialist batsman following minor foot surgery.
The successful Bangladesh seam bowlers Mohammad Rafique (17th position) and Mashrafe Mortaza (19th position) will also be anxious to impress further as they bowl to top African batsmen like Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers and Steve Tikolo.
Afridi is also making the right sort of moves in the LG ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders, having moved up three places to seventh position in the latest release. He now has New Zealand's Scott Styris in his sights although Pollock still leads from Jacques Kallis in second and West Indies' Chris Gayle in third.
Afro-Asia Cup fixtures:
5 June: Twenty20 challenge match Asia XI v Africa XI, Bangalore
6 June: First ODI Asia XI v Africa XI, Bangalore
9 June: Second ODI Asia XI v Africa XI, Chennai
10 June: Third ODI Asia XI v Africa XI, Chennai
LG ICC One-Day Rankings (as of 4 June, ahead of Afro-Asia Series)
(Batsmen)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Kevin Pietersen Eng 827 56.27 834 v Aus at Antigua 2007
2 ( - ) Ricky Ponting Aus 799 43.31 805 v SA at Johannesburg 2006
3 ( - ) Mike Hussey Aus 766 58.90 863 v NZ at Perth 2007
4 (+1) Mahendra Dhoni Ind 761 45.95 806 v WI at Kingston 2006
5 (+1) Matthew Hayden Aus 746 43.99 854 v Ind at Centurion 2003
5= (+1) R.R.Sarwan WI 746 44.55 798 v Ind at St Kitts 2006
7= (-3) S.T.Jayasuriya SL 740 33.12 838 v Ban at Pietermaritzburg 2003
7= (+1) Graeme Smith SA 740 39.29 784 v Ind at Kolkata 2005
9 ( - ) Adam Gilchrist Aus 729 36.00 820 v SL at Dambulla 2004
10 ( - ) Michael Clarke Aus 728 45.60 749 v SA at Centurion 2006
11 ( - ) Andrew Symonds Aus 726 39.46 774 v Ban at Fatullah 2006
12 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 723 45.47 816 v WI at Johannesburg 2004
13 (+6) M.Jayawardene SL 714 33.30 737 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2001
14 (+1) H.H.Gibbs SA 709 36.20 750 v SL at Durban 2003
15 (+1) Rahul Dravid Ind 708 40.11 754 v WI at Kingston 2006
16 (+1) Chris Gayle WI 706 37.97 804 v Aus at Mumbai 2006
17 (-4) K.C.Sangakkara SL 702 36.18 760 v Ind at Rajkot 2007
18 ( - ) AB de Villiers SA 701 34.86 706 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007
19 (-6) Mhd Yousuf Pak 691 41.04 777 v SA at Rawalpindi 2003
20 ( - ) S.Chanderpaul WI 682 38.05 754 v SA at Durban 1999
(Bowlers)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Ave Econ HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 897 24.02 3.71 920 v Pak at Johannesburg 2007
2 ( - ) Nathan Bracken Aus 794 21.36 4.34 806 v SL at St George's 2007
3 ( - ) Shane Bond NZ 790 19.32 4.20 811 v SA at St George's 2007
4 ( - ) Chaminda Vaas SL 753 26.79 4.18 861 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2004
5 ( - ) M.Muralidaran SL 741 22.68 3.84 913 v NZ at Sharjah 2002
6 ( - ) Daniel Vettori NZ 697 32.94 4.22 767 v Eng at Perth 2007
7 ( - ) Makhaya Ntini SA 694 23.59 4.41 782 v WI at Cape Town 2004
8 ( - ) Brett Lee Aus 686 22.65 4.69 853 v SA at Melbourne 2006
9 ( - ) Abdur Razzaq Ban 673 22.61 3.92 711 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007
10 ( - ) Andre Nel SA 662 27.61 4.63 666 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007
11 ( - ) Brad Hogg Aus 656 27.10 4.49 661 v SA at St Lucia 2007
12 (+1) Andrew Hall SA 640 25.70 4.50 655 v Eng at Bridgetown 2007
13 (+1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 635 25.88 4.38 755 v Ban at Dhaka 2003
13= (-1) Lasith Malinga SL 635* 24.94 4.82 647 v Aus at Bridgetown 2007
13= (+1) Harbhajan Singh Ind 635 32.45 4.13 735 v WI at Bridgetown 2002
16 ( - ) Ajit Agarkar Ind 629 27.55 5.03 676 v WI at Kuala Lumpur 2006
17 ( - ) Mhd Rafiq Ban 622 38.74 4.39 650 v Zim at Bogra 2006
18 (+3) Shahid Afridi Pak 619 35.26 4.60 622 v SL at Abu Dhabi 2007
19 (-1) M Mortaza Ban 615 29.14 4.57 679 v Ind at Port-of-Spain 2007
20 (-1) Jacob Oram NZ 613 30.58 4.52 766 v Aus at The Oval 2004
(All-rounders)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points HS Ranking
1 ( - ) Shaun Pollock SA 459 483 v Pak at Johannesburg 2007
2 ( - ) Jacques Kallis SA 396 505 v WI at Bridgetown 2001
3 (+1) Chris Gayle WI 381 511 v Zim at Harare 2003
4 (+1) Andrew Flintoff Eng 373 544 v SL at The Rose Bowl 2004
5 (-2) ST Jayasuriya SL 360 463 v Pak at Lahore 1997
