
Ninth-ranked Pakistan will start the series with a difference of 42 points relative to 11th-ranked Zimbabwe and this gap means it is expected to win the series convincingly. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, failure to win the series convincingly will mean Pakistan will drop points.
Pakistan will stay on 87 points if it wins 3-0, but will drop to 85 points if it wins the series 2-1. Zimbabwe’s 2-1 series win will mean Pakistan will slide to 83 points.
After this series against Zimbabwe, Pakistan has a scheduled five-ODI series against Sri Lanka in July while Bangladesh has home ODIs against India and South Africa. The West Indies has no series scheduled until the cut-off date of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 to be staged in UK from 1 to 19 June.
Meanwhile, players from both the sides will be aiming to improve their rankings on the Reliance ICC ODI Player Rankings.
In the batting table, no batsman from either side features inside the top 30 and, as such, Ahmed Shehzad/Mohammad Hafeez in 33rd/38th position will start off as the highest-ranked batsmen.
Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams (50th), captain Hamilton Mazakadza (60th) and Elton Chigumbura (65th) are their side’s highest-ranked batsmen.
In the bowlers’ chart, Pakistan has one bowler inside the top 20 - Hafeez (19th) – who is also the highest-ranked all-rounder (in fifth place) from either side.
Series schedule:
26 May – 1st ODI, Lahore (d/n)
29 May – 2nd ODI, Lahore (d/n)
31 May – 3rd ODI, Lahore (d/n)
RELIANCE ICC ODI RANKINGS (as on 25 May, before the start of Pakistan-Zimbabwe series)
Rank Team Points
1 Australia 129
2 India 117
3 New Zealand 116
4 South Africa 112
5 Sri Lanka 106
6 England 94
7 West Indies 88
8 Bangladesh 88
9 Pakistan 87
10 Ireland 50
11 Zimbabwe 45
12 Afghanistan 41
(Developed by David Kendix)
Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings (as on 25 May, before the start of Pakistan-Zimbabwe series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 AB de Villiers SA 902! 53.65 902 v NZ at Auckland 2015
2 K. Sangakkara SL 860 41.98 861 v Sco at Hobart 2015
3 Hashim Amla SA 828 55.26 901 v Eng at Trent Bridge 2012
4 Virat Kohli Ind 822 51.47 886 v Ban at Fatullah 2014
5 T. Dilshan SL 793 39.65 802 v Sco at Hobart 2015
6 Shikhar Dhawan Ind 756 43.98 794 v SA at Melbourne 2015
7 Kane Williamson NZ 733 44.76 789 v Aus at Auckland 2015
8 MS Dhoni Ind 731 52.46 836 v Aus at Delhi 2009
9 Glenn Maxwell Aus 720 35.05 724 v Pak at Adelaide 2015
10 George Bailey Aus 697 42.02 867 v SA at Harare 2014
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
33 Ahmed Shehzad Pak 606 34.56 670 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
38 M. Hafeez Pak 582 30.53 665 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
50 Sean Williams Zim 556! 34.20 556 v Ind at Auckland 2015
60 H. Masakadza Zim 526 27.96 566 v Ban at Mirpur 2009
65 E. Chigumbura Zim 498 24.94 554 v SA at Bulawayo 2007
79 Haris Sohail Pak 470*! 35.16 470 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
85 Azhar Ali Pak 459* 47.21 512 v Aus at Sharjah 2012
88 Vusi Sibanda Zim 445 24.45 512 v Pak at Harare 2013
94 Craig Ervine Zim 429* 33.11 464 v WI at Grenada 2013
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 Mitchell Starc Aus 783! 18.33 4.70 783 v NZ at Melbourne 2015
2 Imran Tahir SA 734* 20.51 4.35 735 v SL at Sydney 2015
3 Dale Steyn SA 717 25.57 4.81 746 v Ind at Durban 2013
4 Sunil Narine WI 709 26.49 4.10 791 v SL at Jamaica 2013
5= Mitchell Johnson Aus 693 25.26 4.83 724 v Ban at Darwin 2008
Trent Boult NZ 693*! 25.00 4.57 693 v Aus at Melbourne 2015
Saeed Ajmal Pak 693 22.73 4.18 810 v SA at Centurion 2013
8 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 676 28.25 4.31 717 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
9 James Anderson Eng 670 29.22 4.92 719 v SA at The Oval 2013
10 Morne Morkel SA 666 23.98 4.90 717 v SL at East London 2012
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
19 M. Hafeez Pak 598 35.31 4.06 769 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
42 Prosper Utseya Zim 520 46.50 4.34 663 v Ban at Harare 2006
49 Junaid Khan Pak 507 27.23 5.25 655 v SL at Abu Dhabi 2013
68 Wahab Riaz Pak 460 30.25 5.61 484 v WI at Barbados 2011
88 Sean Williams Zim 415 53.06 4.99 419 v Ire at Hobart 2015
All-rounders (top three)
Rank Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 T. Dilshan SL 404 415 v Sco at Hobart 2015
2 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 398 453 v Zim at Chittagong 2009
3 Angelo Mathews SL 378 427 v Eng at Colombo (RPS) 2014
4 James Faulkner Aus 361*/! 361 v NZ at Melbourne 2015
5 M. Hafeez Pak 348 438 v Ind at Kolkata 2013
*indicates provisional rating; a batsman qualifies for a full rating after a minimum of 40 started innings; a bowler qualifies for a full rating after he has conceded 1,500 runs.
!indicates career-highest rating
For more information, go to www.relianceiccrankings.com.