ICC’s latest Test rankings; Sehwag and India retain No. 1 spot
Indian Cricket team and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 at Galle, while the victorious Sri Lankan team and its captain, both have been ranked No. 2.
The Swashbuckling Indian opener, Virender Sehwag scoring his 20th Test century at Galle is leading the chart with 866 points while the Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara, with 852 points, stands second. The Indian team as well is lucky enough to retain its number one position on the chart despite having lost all of its series against the Test cricketing giants, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, South Africa and Sri Lanka, at their home grounds since 1993.
After crushing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 with 10-wicket defeat in the first match of the test series at Galle, the Island nation was expecting the top spot in the Test rankings of the ICC. The Lankan skipper has questioned the International Cricket Council’s ranking procedure calling it unfair.
Responding to a question about the fairness of the ICC test ranking and the player’s satisfaction, Sangakkara said that the he has no idea what ranking formula ICC is following. The Lankan skipper said that the rankings that cannot be understood by the players, administrators and the sport’s fans are useless.
He further added that rankings announced by the ICC should be fair and only a fair Future Tour Program (FTP) can lead to the fair rankings acceptable to everybody. Suggesting a fair FTP for Test cricket, Sangakkara said the only way to get a fair deal in the longest format of cricket is that all the Test playing nations should face off each other at least once in every two years.
On the batting chart, blistering Indian opener Virender Sehwag has retained ‘numero uno’ in the Test rankings. His 866 points are followed by the Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara’s 852. India’s most prolific run-scorer, Sachin Tendulkar improving his Test ranking has moved from sixth to seventh spot in the latest Test rankings.
With Sehwag retaining his position while Tendulkar moving a spot above, many Indian batsmen have dropped down in the latest ranking chart. The newly married and the most expensive cricketer in the world http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 has also slipped four places down reaching the 40th place.
The other Indian batters who failed to defend their spots on the chart include the veteran http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623 slipped from No. 4 to the 10th position in the latest rankings.
On the bowler’s side, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Muttiah-Muralitharan-c78157 finished his Test career at No. 3. The magical spinner who took 800 wickets in his 133-match test career spent a record 1,711 days (214 tests) at the top spot of bowling chart.
While the rating system of the International Cricket Council (ICC) seems to be well, the only problem in it is the FTP (Future Tour Program). For example if in a season a team has played all its test series at home and has won all of them using the advantage of home conditions, its rating points would not exhibit the quality and the strength of that team. Similarly if a side has played non-competitive sides throughout its season, winning all of its matches, one cannot say that the team has become a leading Test side. Under a fair FTP all the Test nations should face off each other at home as well as away to prove their mettle.
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