Sri Lanka will play a two-Test series against host Bangladesh from 27 January in Mirpur with an eye on retaining its sixth place on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings Table.
Sixth-ranked Sri Lanka goes into the series with 90 ratings points, leading tenth-ranked Bangladesh by 72 ratings points. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, Angelo Mathews’ men need to win one or both the Tests to avoid slipping behind West Indies in seventh rank.
If Sri Lanka wins the series 1-0 it will retain the sixth rank with a loss of ratings point at 89. A 2-0 series win will ensure that Sri Lanka stays in sixth place with a gain of a ratings point at 91.
But a 0-0 series draw or even loss of one or both Tests will mean that Sri Lanka drops behind West Indies to seventh.
If the series is drawn 0-0, Sri Lanka will lose four ratings points to end on 86 in seventh place, just one behind West Indies. If Bangladesh wins the series 1-0, Sri Lanka will drop to seventh place with a loss of seven ratings points to end at 83, four behind West Indies.
A 2-0 series win for Bangladesh will mean that Sri Lanka loses eight ratings points to end on 82, on par with eighth-ranked New Zealand, but when ratings are calculated beyond decimal point, then Angelo Mathews’ men will be ranked ahead.
If Bangladesh does win the series by any margin it has the opportunity to close the gap with ninth-ranked Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews starts the series with an excellent opportunity to enter the top 10 of the rankings.
Mathews, player of the series, in the recent series against Pakistan is currently in 12th place.
The highest-ranked batsman on either side however is Kumar Sangakkara in seventh place. Mahela Jayawardena in 18th position is the only other batsman in the top 20 likely to feature in the series.
For Bangladesh some of the batsmen likely to be in action are Shakib Al Hasan (32nd), Tamim Iqbal (34th), Mominul Haque (36th), Mushfiqur Rahim (39th) and Nasir Jossain (42nd).
Rangana Herath starts off as the highest-ranked bowler on either side in fourth place and is the only bowler in the top 10 of the playing rankings to feature in the series. In fact, the only other bowler in the top 20 is Shakib, who sits in 20th place.
The other bowlers to watch out for are Sohag Gazi (37th), Ajantha Mendis (39th), Shaminda Eranga (41st), Robiul Islam (60th) and Suranga Lakmal (63rd).
Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings table (as on 25 January, before Bangladesh v Sri Lanka series)
Rank Team Rating
1 South Africa 133
2 India 117
3 Australia 111
4 England 107
5 Pakistan 100
6 Sri Lanka 90
7 West Indies 87
8 New Zealand 82
9 Zimbabwe 34
10 Bangladesh 18
Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Tests (as on 25 January, before Bangladesh v Sri Lanka series)
Batsmen
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 AB de Villiers SA 912! 51.71 912 v Ind at Durban 2013
2 S.Chanderpaul WI 876 51.93 901 v NZ at Napier 2008
3 Ross Taylor NZ 871! 47.51 871 v WI at Hamilton 2013
4 Hashim Amla SA 868 51.34 907 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
5 C Pujara Ind 851*! 66.25 851 v SA at Durban 2013
6 Misbah-ul-Haq Pak 824! 48.75 824 v SL at Sharjah 2014
7 K Sangakkara SL 822 56.35 938 v Eng at Kandy 2007
8 Michael Clarke Aus 817 51.40 900 v SL at Melbourne 2012
9 Graeme Smith SA 785 49.56 843 v Eng at Johannesburg 2010
10 Younus Khan Pak 759 51.38 880 v SL at Lahore 2009
Selected Rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
12 Angelo Mathews SL 709! 45.29 709 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
18 M Jayawardena SL 664 49.47 883 v Ind at Ahmedabad 2009
32 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 590 36.92 603 v WI at Khulna 2012
34 Tamim Iqbal Ban 588 38.29 707 v Eng at Old Trafford 2010
36 Mominul Haque Ban 584*! 83.42 584 v NZ at Mirpur 2013
39 M Rahim Ban 564 32.46 584 v Eng at Chittagong 2010
42 Nasir Hossain Ban 541* 45.21 550 v NZ at Chittagong 2013
45 D Chandimal SL 515* 47.20 571 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2013
49 P Jayawardena SL 475 31.22 510 v Eng at Galle 2012
60 Kaushal Silva SL 421*! 32.58 421 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
78 Dilruwan Perera SL 380*! 51.50 380 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
81 D Karunaratne SL 364*! 29.68 364 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
86 Mahmudullah Ban 344* 27.90 445 v NZ at Hamilton 2010
Bowlers
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
1 V Philander SA 909 18.00 912 v Ind at Johannesburg 2013
2 Dale Steyn SA 901 22.90 908 v Pak at Johannesburg 2013
3 Ryan Harris Aus 866*! 21.56 866 v Eng at Sydney 2014
4 Rangana Herath SL 789 29.99 838 v NZ at Colombo (PSS) 2012
5 Saeed Ajmal Pak 787 27.46 855 v Zim at Harare 2013
6 Peter Siddle Aus 779 28.68 816 v Eng at Old Trafford 2013
7 R Ashwin Ind 759 28.50 808 v WI at Mumbai 2013
8 M Johnson Aus 743 28.33 825 v Eng at Cardiff 2009
9 Pragyan Ojha Ind 741 30.26 773 v Eng at Kolkata 2012
10= Stuart Broad Eng 729 30.31 783 v WI at Lord’s 2012
Trent Boult NZ 729*! 26.54 729 v WI at Hamilton 2013
Selected Rankings
Rank Player Team Pts Ave HS Rating
20 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 614 32.60 680 v WI at Mirpur 2011
37 Sohag Gazi Ban 423* 35.32 459 v NZ at Chittagong 2013
39 Ajantha Mendis SL 405* 34.20 572 v Ban at Chittagong 2009
41 S Eranga SL 392*! 34.09 392 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
60 Robiul Islam Ban 296* 33.82 321 v Zim at Harare 2013
63 Suranga Lakmal SL 264*! 53.75 264 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
70 Mahmudullah Ban 235* 45.07 381 v WI at St George’s 2009
86 Abdur Razzak Ban 169*! 67.30 169 v NZ at Mirpur 2013
91 Rubel Hossain Ban 155* 78.00 161 v Zim at Harare 2013
99 Angelo Mathews SL 112*! 71.69 112 v Pak at Sharjah 2014
All-rounders
Rank Player Team Pts HS Rating
1 R Ashwin Ind 388*/ 419 v WI at Mumbai 2013
2 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 362 404 v Pak at Mirpur 2011
3 V Philander SA 335*/! 335 v Ind at Durban 2013
4 Stuart Broad Eng 291 382 v Pak at Abu Dhabi 2012
5 Shane Watson Aus 260 /* 394 v SA at Johannesburg 2011
