Dhoni was only second Indian to top LG ICC ODI Batting Rankings

When Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit top spot in the LG ICC ODI Batting Rankings on 19 April this year he became only the second Indian batsman to claim this honour in the history of the sport.

It will come as no surprise to know that Sachin Tendulkar was the other Indian ODI batsman to hold top place. Tendulkar was ranked the top ODI batsman just over a decade before Dhoni, in March 1996, and returned to the top on several occasions over the next eight years.

The official website of the LG ICC Player Rankings - www.lgiccrankings.com - allows cricket supporters to compare the ODI careers of Dhoni and Tendulkar and much, much more.

Speaking at the launch of the new website in New Delhi, ICC General Manager - Cricket, David Richardson, said the rankings provided a fascinating guide to the careers of players throughout the history of the game.

"The LG ICC Player Rankings provide an interesting insight into the careers of past and present players," said Mr Richardson.

"I've found it fascinating looking back at the highs and lows of some of the players I played with and against and I'm sure the website will provide many talking points for cricket lovers around the world.

"It's good fun comparing the current stars to the greats of yesteryear but from a personal perspective I've not yet been brave enough to compare my own modest batting statistics to the current crop of wicketkeeper-batsmen like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Adam Gilchrist," he added.

As well as lists of the current top 100 batsmen and bowlers in Test and ODI cricket, the new website includes the career ranking records of all players that have ever played Test match or ODI cricket. It also allows users to compare the cricket careers of today's stars with the all-time greats.

A visit to the official site can, for example, reveal who topped the Test batting rankings when man first set foot on the moon (Bill Lawry) and who led the ODI batting rankings when Suresh Raina was born in November 1986 (Sir Vivian Richards).

It will also tell you that while four Indian batsmen have topped the Test batting rankings - Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid - an Indian bowler has never made it to the top of the Test rankings list.

Despite their glittering careers Kapil Dev and Bishan Bedi never progressed beyond second place in the Test bowling rankings and while Anil Kumble - currently eighth - still has time to break new ground, his current career best is also second place.

Dev has, however, held top spot in the Test all-rounder rankings and was a long-time leader of the ODI all-rounder rankings for much of the 1980s. He also reached first place in the ODI bowling rankings in March 1989.

The only other Indian to reach the top of the ODI bowling table is Anil Kumble who overtook Curtley Ambrose to lead the table in November 1996.

The LG ICC Player Rankings were launched in January 2005 and are the official rankings for international Test and ODI cricket. They are updated after every Test match and ODI series on the official website - www.lgiccrankings.com.