According to the latest list issued by ICC, India has dropped three places down to the fifth spot in the expanded T20I men’s ranking. On the other hand, Pakistan has cemented its top position in the list issued.
The International Cricket Council unveiled the list of expanded T20I team rankings table with 80 teams. These teams will now be able to gauge their progress in a format recognised by the world body. The ICC acknowledges this format as the vehicle for the growth of the game.
India slips down to the fifth position while Pakistan strengthens their pole position
Pakistan, ICC T20 World Cup Champions in 2009, has a wider spread of 286 points to accommodate the additional teams. Whereas the next four teams are within two points of each other – South Africa (262), England (261), Australia (261) and India (260).
South Africa and India have swapped their positions in the expanded table. The launch coincided with the annual rankings update from where the series result of 2015-16 is removed. Meanwhile, the outcomes from the series of 2016-17 and 2017-18 are weighted at 50 per cent.
In the other significant changes, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka moved one spot up to the seventh and eighth position, while West Indies went down to ninth. Nepal, much to their fans’ expectations, has moved from 14th position to 11th and Namibia grabbed the 20th position.
Teams like Austria, Botswana, Luxembourg and Mozambique are among the sides figuring in the first men’s T20I ranking table that features all Members meeting the criteria of having played six matches against other ICC members since May 2016.
The move to expand the table follows the ICC’s decision last year
Last year ICC came to a decision that all men’s T20 matches between Members from 1 January 2019 will be classified as internationals. Following this decision, they moved to expand the table of ICC T20I men’s ranking.
For the ICC Women’s T20 team rankings, which were launched in October 2018, the teams will need to have played six matches against other teams in the previous three to four years to remain in the rankings table.
The qualification process for the ICC men’s T20 World Cup is still underway. It will include 58 T20I matches across five regional finals and it is likely to mean significant movements on the rankings over the coming months.
The first final was held in Papua New Guinea last month whilst the Africa final in Uganda (19-24 May). The Europe final was held in Guernsey (15-19 June). Whereas the Asia final took place in Singapore (22-28 July) and the Americas final in the USA (19-25 August) is still to come.
Six of these teams will join hosts- UAE, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Scotland and Zimbabwe in the global qualifier. This will be another chance to improve their standings on the table as they try to qualify for the ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.
Here is the rankings table:
