Kulasekara leaps to No. 2 in ODI rankings

Nuwan Kulasekara, the Sri Lanka medium-pacer, has climbed to No.2 in the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers after an impressive run of performances since his return to the team in April 2008. In that period, he has taken 40 wickets at an average of 18, including five wickets in the last two ODIs of the series against Pakistan, where he wrecked the top order to help his team win both the games by sizeable margins.

Kulasekara moves ahead of team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan - who is now in fourth place - while Australian left-armer Nathan Bracken has fallen to the No. 3 spot. Daniel Vettori continues to top the rankings.

Two Bangladesh players - Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza - have made it to the top ten after a series of notable displays against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at home. Shakib - who has climbed 15 places to reach No. 6 - has taken 11 wickets in his last six ODIs at 10.81, while Mortaza, now ranked ninth, has fared just as well, with 14 wickets at 10.92 in as many games. Shakib had also reached the top of the ranking for ODI allrounders in the past week, going ahead of Jacob Oram and Andrew Flintoff.

For Pakistan, Sohail Tanvir's failure in the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka - he conceded 85 runs in 12 overs for a wicket and was promptly dropped - has cost him a place in the top ten. He slips ten places to No.17.