New Zealand retain top spot in latest ICC T20I rankings, India slip to fourth after annual update
New Zealand has retained its top spot, while the England team has jumped to second spot in the ICC T20I rankings after the annual ICC update at the end of May 1. The new system makes sure that the recent form of the teams is given more importance in the rankings, and older records are phased out.
The English team, hosts of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2017, vaulted three places and seven points to reach 121, sitting just four points below table-toppers New Zealand.
Also read: South Africa tops ICC ODI team rankings, India third after annual update
The inaugural World T20 Champions, India, have dropped six points to reach the fourth spot, and currently sit on 118 points, three less than Pakistan, the other finalists of that event. Pakistan has the same rank as England, but is ranked below the 2010 World T20 because of a fraction of a point’s difference.
Australia have changed places with World T20 2016 champions West Indies, and now stand at the sixth position with 110 points. The Windies are just a point below the Aussies with 109 points, despite winning the coveted T20 trophy last year.
2014 World T20 winners Sri Lanka are currently ranked eighth, while Afghanistan, at ninth and Bangladesh (with 78 points) complete the top ten. The Netherlands, another non-Test playing nation like Afghanistan, have gone towards the opposite end of the spectrum, dropping nine points to slip to the fourteenth spot.
India has had a mixed year in T20Is, having tied the series against West Indies in Florida in August 2016, following it with a 2-1 win over England earlier this year.
Australia, being the host nation, and the next nine highest ranked teams will automatically qualify for the 2020 World T20, the seventh edition of the tournament. The bottom-ranked eight teams will get another shot at participating in the event via the ICC World T20 Qualifiers in 2019, where they will be joined by the regional qualifiers. A total of six more teams will join the first ten to complete the 16-team set-up.
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | NEW ZEALAND | 125 |
| 2 | ENGLAND | 121 |
| 3 | PAKISTAN | 121 |
| 4 | INDIA | 118 |
| 5 | SOUTH AFRICA | 111 |
| 6 | AUSTRALIA | 110 |
| 7 | WEST INDIES | 109 |
| 8 | SRI LANKA | 95 |
| 9 | AFGHANISTAN | 90 |
| 10 | BANGLADESH | 78 |