Williamson breaks into the top 10 for the first time in the T20I Rankings

Dubai, 23 January-  New Zealand and Zimbabwe players have made impressive gains in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings, which were released on Saturday morning.

New Zealand came back from behind against Pakistan to win the series 2-1, while Zimbabwe recovered from 0-2 down against Bangladesh to draw the series at two-all.

These series results are clearly reflected in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings, which will surely serve as a confidence-booster to the two sides which have no more T20I cricket scheduled before the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 starts on 8 March.

New Zealand captain Kane Williams has moved up five places to a career-best sixth after he top-scored with 175 runs in the series, while left-am fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has broken into the top 10 in eighth position after rising three places.

However, the biggest Kiwi mover is fast bowler Adam Milne. The right-arm fast bowler was the leading wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets, for which he has been rewarded with a jump of 26 places that has put him just outside the top 10 in 13th spot.

For Pakistan, the only positive news is the movement of middle-order batsman Umar Akmal (18th after rising three places) and captain Shahid Afridi, who has returned to the top three in third position in the bowlers’ chart after gaining one place.

Zimbabwe’s charge in the player rankings is led by Hamilton Masakadza and Graeme Cremer.

Hamilton aggregated 222 runs in four matches, including a series-leveling 93 not out in the final match of the series, which has helped him vault 11 places to eighth in the batting table. Malcolm Waller, who scored 128 runs in the series, has rocketed 39 places to join Hashim Amla of South Africa in 39th position.

Cremer’s six wickets in the series has meant he has stormed up nine places to a career-high fifth position. The wrist-spinner has gained 61 points and is now just two points behind the third-ranked Pakistan captain.

Tendai Chisoro took four wickets with his fast bowling, which has given him a lift of 84 places that has put him just inside the top 50 in 46th position.

For Bangladesh, the good news is that Mustafizur Rahman has continued to make upward movement. The fast bowler has climbed 78 places and is now in 37th spot after taking four wickets in the series. Al-Amin Hossain has jumped 15 places to 35th, while captain Mashrafe Mortaza is 33rd after rising two places.

Sabbir Hussain was his side’s leading run-getter with 140 runs for which he has earned 59 places, which has put him in a career-best 79th position.

Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I Team Championship table, New Zealand has leapfrogged South Africa and Pakistan into fifth position. The series win has given New Zealand two points, while Pakistan has dropped one point.

In contrast, Bangladesh has dropped behind Scotland to 11th position after the drawn series meant it conceded five points. Zimbabwe has retained its 14th position but it has collected four points.

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are in different first-round groups of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016. The two sides, along with six qualifiers, will lock horns from 8 March in Nagpur and Dharamsala with the table-toppers progressing to the second round, which will start in Nagpur on 15 March.

With only eight points separating number-one ranked West Indies from eighth-ranked India, the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 is shaping up to be a wide open event with any of the top-ranked sides capable of lifting the trophy in Kolkata on 3 April.

In the lead-up to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, Australia and India will play three T20Is on 26, 29 and 31 January, the UAE will host the Netherlands for a T20I on 3 February, South Africa will face England in two T20Is on 19 and 21 February, the Asia Cup T20 tournament will be held from 24 February to 6 March, while South Africa will host Australia for three T20Is on 4, 6 and 9 March.

When Australia hosts India next week in Adelaide, it will need to win the series to claim the number-one position. In case of a 2-1 win, Australia will move to 120 points and India will remain eighth, while a 3-0 win will put Australia on 124 points and India on 103 points.

However, if India sweeps the three-match series, then the two sides will swap places. In this scenario, India will vault to number-one with 120 points while Australia will plummet to number-eight with 110 points. If India wins 2-1, then Australia will slip to sixth and India will move to seventh.

Team Rankings table:

Rank    Team    Ratings
1    West Indies    118
2    Australia    118
3    Sri Lanka    118
4    England    117
5    New Zealand    116
6    South Africa    115
7    Pakistan    113
8    India    110
9    Afghanistan    80
10    Scotland    66
11    Bangladesh    64
12    Hong Kong    61
13    Netherlands    61
14    Zimbabwe    54
15    Ireland    42

Batsmen (Top 10):

Rank    Player    Team    Points
1    Aaron Finch    Australia    854
2    Virat Kohli    India    845
3    Alex Hales    England     795
4    Faf du Plessis    South Africa    758
5    Martin Guptill    New Zealand    741
6    Kane Williamson    New Zealand    733
7    Chris Gayle    West Indies    703
8    Hamilton Masakadza    Zimbabwe    699
9    Mohammad Shehzad    Afghanistan    681
10    Kusal Perera    Sri Lanka    678

Bowlers (Top 10):

Rank    Bowler    Team     Ratings
1    Samuel Badree    West Indies    751
2    Ravichandran Ashwin    India    681
3    Shahid Afridi    Pakistan    672
4    Sachitra Senanayake    Sri Lanka    671
5    Graeme Cremer    Zimbabwe    669
6    Mitchell Starc    Australia    659
7    Lasith Malinga    Sri Lanka    651
8    Mitchell McClenaghan    New Zealand    643
9    Imran Tahir    South Africa    641
10    Dawlat Zardan    Afghanistan    636