Sehwag drops to 18 in ICC batsmen rankings

The continuous failure with the bat cost Indian opener Virender Sehwag four places as he slid to 18th in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen but skipper Mahendra Singh moved up by two places to number four.

Sehwag has failed to fire in the ongoing tri-series in Australia while Dhoni has been a success. Young batsman Virat Kohli continues to be India's best ranked batsman at number three, behind South African duo of Hashim Amla (1) and AB de Villiers (2).

With his two 90 plus scores, left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir has gained six places to find himself at number 15. In the bowlers' list, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is the only Indian in top-20 as he jumped to number 11, a gain of three slots.

Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan is the next best for India, way behind at number 30 after dropping two positions. Meanwhile, England captain Alastair Cook and fast bowler Steven Finn have broken into the top 10 after stellar performances against Pakistan in the four-match ODI series, which they won 4-0.

Cook has jumped 27 places to eighth position after finishing as the leading run-getter in the series with 323 runs, including back-to-back centuries in the Abu Dhabi ODIs. Cook, who won the Test Player of the Year award at the LG ICC Awards in London in 2011, has now become the second highest-ranked England batsman after Jonathan Trott who has dropped two places to sixth position after managing just 38 runs in the series.

Flamboyant Kevin Pietersen is the other batsman who has made a charge on the batting ladder. The Surrey batsman scored 281 runs in the series at an average of nearly 94 following scores of 14, 26, 111 not out and 130.

For these entertaining performances, Pietersen has been rewarded with a jump of 22 places which puts him in 26th position. Finn has achieved a career-best ranking by rocketing 67 places to ninth position. The 22-year-old Middlesex bowler claimed 13 wickets in the series and he is now the second England bowler inside the top 10 after off-spinner Graeme Swann, who has finished in third position after gaining one place.

Stuart Broad is the other England bowler to have improved his ranking. He is now in 24th position after rising five places. Pakistan's Umar Akmal has dropped out of the top 10, falling to 13th position, down by three places, captain Misbah-ul-Haq has slipped three places to 29th spot.

Shahid Afridi has dropped one place to 38th position, Younus Khan has slipped seven places to 43rd spot and Mohammad Hafeez has fallen five places to 48th position. The only Pakistan batsman to make an upward movement is Asad Shafiq who has gained nine places and now sits in 70th spot.

Pakistan bowlers to drop in the bowlers’ chart include Mohammad Hafeez, who has slipped from second spot to sixth position, Shahid Afridi, who has dropped from 11th to 15th spot, and Umar Gul, who has ended in 35th position after falling 11 places. Saeed Ajmal, who finished with 10 wickets in the series, leads the bowlers' table, followed by South Africa’s Lonwabo Tsotsobe.