Opportunity for Virat Kohli to claim No.1 spot in the Test rankings
Amongst the batsmen, both England and India have five each inside the top-50.
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The followers of the most challenging format of the game will also be keeping a close watch on the ICC Test Player Rankings as India captain Virat Kohli will look to snatch the coveted number-one position from Australia’s Steve Smith, while England fast bowler James Anderson will aim to defend his number-one ranking.
Kohli trails Smith by 26 points and will have to produce a string of strong performances to leapfrog the Australian, while Anderson will also need wickets to either defend or consolidate his top spot.
Apart from Kohli and Anderson, both the sides comprise players who feature prominently in the Test player rankings who, during the course of the series, will be hoping to make upward movements. This makes the upcoming series a perfect recipe for entertaining, interesting and enthralling red ball cricket.
Amongst the batsmen, both England and India have five each inside the top-50. From England, Joe Root is ranked third (48 points behind Kohli), Alistair Cook 13th, Jonny Bairstow 16th, Ben Stokes 28th and Moeen Ali 43rd, while India’s Cheteshwar Pujara is sixth, followed by Lokesh Rahul 18th, Ajinkya Rahane 19th, Murali Vijay 23rd and Shikhar Dhawan 24th.
Amongst the bowlers and besides Anderson, Stuart Broad is the other bowler who features inside the top-30 in 12th position.
In contrast, India boasts six bowlers inside the top-30, including two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja (third) and Ravichandran Ashwin (fifth), and four fast bowlers, namely Mohammed Shami (17th), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (25th), Ishant Sharma (26th) and Umesh Yadav (28th).
India’s left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who caused problems for the England batsmen in the ODI series, is ranked outside the top-50 in 56th position.
The Test player rankings will now be updated following the conclusion of the Edgbaston Test, while the Test team rankings will be updated following the conclusion of the fifth and final Test at The Oval.
Series schedule
1-5 August – 1st Test, Edgbaston
9-13 August – 2nd Test, Lord’s
18-22 August – 3rd Test, Trent Bridge
30 August – 3 September – 4th Test, Hampshire Bowl
7-11 September – 5th Test, The Oval
ICC Test Team Rankings (as on 30 July, before the start of England v India Test series):
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | India | 125 |
| 2 | South Africa | 106 |
| 3 | Australia | 106 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 102 |
| 5 | England | 97 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 97 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 88 |
| 8 | West Indies | 77 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 67 |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 02 |
| 11 | Afghanistan | 00 |
| 12 | Ireland | 00 |
ICC Test batsmen ranking
| Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating |
| 1 Steve Smith Aus 929 61.37 947 v SA at Durban 2018 |
| 2 Virat Kohli Ind 903 53.40 912 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 3 Joe Root Eng 855 52.28 917 v Aus at Trent Bridge 2015 |
| 4 Kane Williamson NZ 847 50.35 893 v Aus at Perth 2015 |
| 5 David Warner Aus 820 48.20 880 v NZ at Perth 2015 |
| 6 C. Pujara Ind 799 50.34 888 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 7 D. Karunaratne SL 754! 37.28 754 v SA at Colombo (SSC) 2018 |
| 8 D. Chandimal SL 733 44.96 755 v Win at St Lucia 2018 |
| 9 Dean Elgar SA 724 41.05 784 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 10 Aiden Markram SA 703* 47.27 759 v Aus at Johannesburg 2018 |
Selected rankings
| Rank Player Team Points Avg Highest Rating |
| 13 Alastair Cook Eng 686 45.65 874 v Ind at Kolkata 2012 |
| 16 Jonny Bairstow Eng 670 38.40 772 v SA at Old Trafford 2017 |
| 18 Lokesh Rahul Ind 661* 40.86 761 v SL at Pallekele 2017 |
| 19 Ajinkya Rahane. Ind 645 43.17 825 v NZ at Indore 2016 |
| 23 Murali Vijay Ind 624 40.69 747 v SA at Bengaluru 2015 |
| 24 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 618 43.93 627 v SL at Kolkata 2017 |
| 28 Ben Stokes Eng 601 34.85 664 v Win at Lord’s 2017 |
| 43 Moeen Ali Eng 537 32.40 655 v SA at Old Trafford 2017 |
| 57 Dawid Malan Eng 465* 29.00 505 v Aus at Sydney 2018 |
| 61 Jos Buttler Eng 456* 35.00 494 v NZ at Headingley 2015 |
Bowlers (top 10)
| Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating |
| 1 James Anderson Eng 892 27.23 896 v Win at Lord’s 2017 |
| 2 Kagiso Rabada SA 882 21.71 902 v Aus at Port Elizabeth 2018 |
| 3 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 866 23.11 899 v Aus at Ranchi 2017 |
| 4 Vernon Philander SA 826 21.54 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013 |
| 5 R. Ashwin Ind 811 25.34 904 v Eng at Mumbai 2016 |
| 6 Pat Cummins Aus 800*! 23.81 800 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 7 Trent Boult NZ 795 27.84 825 v Eng at Lord’s 2015 |
| 8 Rangana Herath SL 791 27.95 867 v Zim at Harare 2016 |
| 9 Neil Wagner NZ 765 28.26 785 v Win at Wellington 2017 |
| 10 Josh Hazlewood Aus 759 26.84 863 v Ind at Bengaluru 2017 |
Selected ranking
| Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Rating |
| 12 Stuart Broad Eng 742 28.89 880 v SA at Johannesburg 2016 |
| 17 M. Shami Ind 696 28.90 703 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 25 B. Kumar Ind 620* 26.09 626 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 26 Ishant Sharma Ind 582 35.52 671 v Win at Dominica 2011 |
| 28 Umesh Yadav Ind 577 34.94 578 v SL at Nagpur 2017 |
| 31 Ben Stokes Eng 545* 33.83 596 v Win at Lord’s 2017 |
| 34 Chris Woakes Eng 509* 34.45 609 v Pak at The Oval 2016 |
| 36 Moeen Ali Eng 492 40.68 633 v Win at Edgbaston 2017 |
| 43 Jasprit Bumrah Ind 369* 25.21 373 v SA at Johannesburg 2018 |
| 56 Kuldeep Yadav Ind 273* 20.77 293 v SL at Pallekele 2017 |
All-Rounders (top five)
| Rank Player Team Points Highest Rating |
| 1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 420 489 v Aus at Mirpur 2017 |
| 2 Ravindra Jadeja Ind 394 438 v SL at Colombo (SSC) 2017 |
| 3 Vernon Philander SA 370 379 v SL at Galle 2018 |
| 4 R. Ashwin Ind 365 493 v Eng at Mohali 2016 |
| 5 Jason Holder Win 354 /* 355 v Ban at Jamaica 2018 |
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