The other Indians in the list also dropped down with Yuvraj Singh barely maintaining his position in the top-20 at the 19th spot.

The left-hander is down two places from his previous standing of 17th.

Meanwhile, in the bowlers’ list, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who has been dropped for India’s tour of Bangladesh, slipped one place to 15th.

At the joint 16th spot with England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, Ajit Agarkar was the only other Indian bowler in the top-20.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya has moved up to third position in the rankings for batsmen following his run of good form.

Australian opener Matthew Hayden has moved up one place to seventh spot and is enjoying his highest ODI rating for nearly three years following his third century of the World Cup against New Zealand on April 20.

England’s Kevin Pietersen is still on top spot, closely followed by Australia captain Ricky Ponting at second.

Dhoni, who had faced the wrath of cricket lovers earlier, was scheduled to arrive on Friday.

Sources close to Dhoni said that he was staying with one of his friends, a former Ranji player, in New Delhi.

“He wanted to return to Ranchi but feared to face his fans, who staged demonstrations against him after he returned to the pavillion being out for a duck twice,” sources added.

On March 17, agitated cricket fans demolished the boundary wall of Dhoni’s house, under construction in Harmu locality in Ranchi.

Sources said Dhoni would return without any fanfare adding that he might return by road from Kolkata.