Ranking cricketers is a fascinating exercise, perhaps more so when former legends of the sport are ranked. And for those contemplating whether there is a system that ranks cricketers of the yesteryear, that is the precise point of the Legends Ranking.

Until now, top cricket websites used to dedicate their resources to the ranking of active global players. With Legends Ranking, the fanatics of the game will have another points table to look up to and follow.

Here, we shall shed more light on the ranking, the players that make up this chart, and what it means for cricket.

What is Legends Ranking?

The Legends Ranking system is a method designed to accurately gauge the world’s cricket legends and teams. Unlike the ICC Ranking, these do not concentrate on the active players of the game but the retired international players, who still have a lot of the sport left in them and are playing in various leagues and tournaments.

The Legends Ranking currently works for the T20 format and is released for retired cricketing legends. It is being calculated based on data from every private league from 2015 onwards. The leagues include Road Safety World Series 2020; Legends League Cricket 2022; Sachin Blasters vs Warne Warriors – 2015; and Masters Champion League 2016.

Find the current ranking charts here. 

Why Wisden?

“Legends Ranking is considered an authentic and valid ranking system for retired legends,” said Toby Phillips, Cricket Properties’ Commercial Director. “Although several platforms dedicate their ranking systems to the young and athletic players of the cricketing world, Legends Ranking is the only ranking system focused on ranking retired cricketing legends. The ranking system is an unbiased, authentic, and trustworthy system for global audiences.”

The Ranking system is powered by Wisden. The partnership enables the audience to have faith in this ranking system to be a robust system that will rank cricketing legends who, even after retirement, are proving their worth on the field by playing in independent leagues across the globe.

What is the Legends Ranking system?

As mentioned above, the Legends Ranking system is devoted to the legends who have retired from international cricket but are active in several leagues, matches, and tournaments. This system is dedicated to the globally acclaimed but retired cricket players because, as the saying goes, “a legend always remains a legend”.

To summarise, the Legends Ranking system will empower cricketing legends to be on top of the charts again, providing them with an incentive to look forward to. It will take into account their performance in the game and the league in comparison with the opponent, and rank them accordingly.

The Legends Ranking will also provides cricket fans with the opportunity to witness the massive skills of their favourite players and see them rise through the charts again.

What is the aim of the Legends Ranking system?

This ranking system for retired cricket players focuses on their empowerment and enrichment by documenting their big hits, run rates, and numbers across leagues and tournaments, intending to strive for the top of the charts. With a defined, tangible rank to look forward to, they will find the zeal to play leagues for their fans.

The Legends Ranking will take note of their performance, rate them, and position them on the chart.

For retired international cricket players who are not involved with any league or competition, this ranking will serve as a morale booster to push them outside their comfort zone and commence the next phase of their journey, post-retirement.

In a nutshell, the Legends Ranking serves two primary purposes:
– Rank the retired cricketing legends who still grace the stadiums with their excellent gameplay.
– Encourage the cricket players to get involved with leagues and tournaments for the sake of their fans because we know there is a lot of game left in them.

The Legends Ranking scoring system

The Legends Ranking system is a cumulative score based on the overall performance of a retired player in T20 tournaments.

The ranking depends on the overall match score and the number of wickets taken for each match. Other attributes include the strike rate and average of a player; the opponent’s performance and their team’s overall performance throughout the tournament.

As long as the legendary players play alongside different leagues and tournaments, they will keep improving, ultimately enabling them to occupy the top of the ranking system.