New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar will start his farewell series standing at 24th position in Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen and will intend to finish his memorable career inside the top 20.
Tendulkar follows 18th ranked Matt Prior of England by 15 rating points, and sturdy performances either in Kolkata or Mumbai will see him retire on a high.
Sachin has formerly held the number one spot, having first topped the batting charts in November 1994 when he went past Brian Lara in Mumbai after knocks of 34 and 85 against the West Indies. He last held the top spot in June 2011 before giving way to South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis after deciding to give the series in the West Indies a miss.
Tendulkar ruled the batting tables five times in his career – November 1994, March 1998, May 2000, early 2002 and October 2010. He also spent a total of 139 Tests (fourth most) and 1,157 days (12th most) as the top-ranked batsman in Test cricket.
In addition to Tendulkar, it will also be a chance for India's highest-ranked batsman Cheteshwar Pujara to perk up his ranking. Pujara is at present sitting at seventh position but given that he is still in the qualification period for batsmen,* he is likely to move up the order if he records strong performances. Pujara has so far scored 1,180 runs at an average of 65.55 in 22 Test innings.
Whereas Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Chris Gayle share 20th position and will both look to improve their rankings, Virat Kohli and Darren Bravo share 22nd spot, three ratings points behind Dhoni and Gayle.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who won the LG ICC Cricketer of the Year Award in 2008, is the highest-ranked batsman from both side, in third position, with number-one ranked AB de Villiers firmly within his sights. The South African leads the West Indian by 29 ratings points.
Marlon Samuels is another West Indian batsman who sits inside the top 20, in 16th position, and will look for an upward movement.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin is the highest-ranked bowler from either side, in eighth position. Given that he too is in his qualification period,* he is likely to move up the order depending on how he performs in the series. Ashwin has taken 92 wickets in 16 Tests.
Other bowlers sitting inside the top 20 include Pragyan Ojha (11th), Kemar Roach (14th) and Zaheer Khan (17th), while bowlers outside the top 20 are Shane Shillingford (21st), Darren Sammy (28th), Ishant Sharma (32nd) and Umesh Yadav (50th).
