ICC ranking is the list which shows the players who are in the best form right now. The recent form and past performances of players are used to determine the rating points, which helps the International Cricket Council rank the batters, bowlers and all-rounders.
The concept of rating points is quite difficult to understand. Also, the ranking of some cricketers leaves the fans scratching their heads. Here’s a list of five such cricketers.
1. Mohammed Siraj has 50th rank in ICC ranking for all-rounders in ODIs
Mohammed Siraj is a specialist bowler, who has attained the world number one rank in bowling in ODIs. His batting skills are not that great, but he stands 50th in the rankings, above all-rounders like Sam Curran, Jason Holder and Marcus Stoinis.
2. Heinrich Klaasen has 53rd rank in ICC ranking for batters in T20Is
If someone asks a regular cricket watcher to rank his best T20 batters of the current era, Heinrich Klaasen will likely be on that list. However, Klaasen stands 53rd on the ICC list for batters in T20Is.
3. Joe Root
Joe Root surprisingly holds the 64th spot in the Test rankings for bowlers. He has been a phenomenal batter for England, but in the bowlers’ rankings, he is above specialist bowlers like Ish Sodhi, Ebadot Hossain, Gerald Coetzee and Blair Tickner.
4. Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has retired from T20Is, but he still continues to be the 91st ranked all-rounder in the T20I rankings. Kohli has not bowled in a long time in T20Is, but he is above all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja, Daryl Mitchell and Shaheen Afridi.
5. Gambia
Many fans think that only 20-25 teams play international cricket, but there are 90 teams on the official rankings for T20I. The 90th ranked team is Gambia, which is a small nation from Africa. They have zero rating points after six matches.
