After fourteen long years, Sachin Tendulkar slips out of top 20

Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar, who missed India’s ongoing Test series against West Indies due to his shoulder operation, has for the first time in 14 years slipped out of the top 20 of Test rankings for batsmen.

India, however, have two players in top 20. Captain Rahul Dravid, who retained his second place (842 rating points) behind Australian captain Ricky Ponting (931), and Virender Sehwag (707), though the vice-captain has slipped down one place to 13th.

Tendulkar, who underwent an operation in March, is now placed 22nd with 650 points, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced here Wednesday.

This is the first time that 33-year-old Tendulkar, who missed a few one-day series as well, has slipped out of the top 20 since 1992, though at that time these rankings were not owned by the ICC.

ICC said a combination of factors forced Tendulkar out of the top 20.

“First and foremost, a player loses points - one percent of his rating - for each missed Test and so Tendulkar’s absence from the Caribbean (series), as he recovers from surgery on his right shoulder, obviously counts against him,” said the statement.

“But on top of that, his Test match form in the last couple of years has been well below his career peak - he averages just 28 in his last 10 Tests compared with an overall average of 55.39 - and form has an impact on a player’s rating.”

And while Tendulkar’s mark of 650 rating points may have been enough to put him in the top 20 in times gone by, it is not enough now with other batsmen scoring heavily, explained ICC.

Tendulkar, after missing the seven-match home one-day series against England, two ODIs against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, five one-dayers against West Indies and the four Tests, smashed two centuries in five days while playing for Lashings in exhibition matches in England.

V.V.S. Laxman, who scored 100 and 63 in the drawn third Test in St Kitts this week, has moved up to the 27th position.

India also has two players in the top 20 of the bowlers’ rankings. Anil Kumble slipping down one spot to eighth (732 points) while pacer Irfan Pathan, who missed the third Test, is 13th (656). Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan leads the table with 901 points.

Pathan (276) is placed fifth in the all-rounders’ list, which is headed by South Africa’s Jacques Kallis (486).

Test rankings:

Batsmen: 1 Ricky Ponting (Australia) 931 rating points 2 Rahul Dravid (India) 842 3 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 832 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) 831 5 Matthew Hayden (Australia) 808 6 Younis Khan (Pakistan) 796 7 Mohammed Yousuf (Pakistan) 780 and Mike Hussey (Australia) 780* (joint) 9 Brian Lara (West Indies) 747 10 Kevin Pietersen (England) 746*

Bowlers: 1 M. Muralidaran (Sri Lanka) 901 rating points 2 Makhaya Ntini (South Africa) 841 3 Shane Warne (Australia) 813 4 Glenn McGrath (Australia) 811 5 Matthew Hoggard (England) 780 6 Andrew Flintoff (England) 767 7 Shoaib Akhtar (Pakistan) 751 8 Anil Kumble (India) 732 9 Shane Bond (New Zealand) 720* 10 Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka) 700

All-rounders: 1 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) 486 rating points 2 Andrew Flintoff (England) 463 3 Shaun Pollock (South Africa) 302 4 Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) 290 5 Irfan Pathan (India) 276*

* Denotes provisional ranking

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