India retains top spot in annual Men's T20I Team Rankings update

The latest rankings rate all matches played since May 2025 at 100 per cent and those of the previous two years at 50 per cent. Sitting at 275 points, India sees their lead over England (262 points) trimmed by merely one point, while Australia are placed closer to England in third place with 258 points, as per ICC.

This update is a little surprise for the Asian side, who have dominated the format over the last two years. They have claimed the Men's T20 World Cups in 2024 and 2026, and have been undefeated in all the T20I series between these two events.

The top seven positions in the Men's Rankings are unchanged, with New Zealand (247 points), South Africa (244 points), Pakistan (240) and West Indies (233) following up.

Beyond that, a drop of six rating points for Sri Lanka sees them slip downwards to the ninth spot, while Bangladesh (225 points), which gained one point in the update are up at eighth. Afghanistan are merely one point away from Sri Lanka at 10th with 220 points, while Zimbabwe and Ireland also retain their ranks at 11th and 12th.

Cricket's rising force in North America, the USA have leapfrogged two spots after gaining six points, and see themselves rise to the 13th place, overtaking the Netherlands and Scotland, who are at 14th and 15th ranks respectively. Namibia was unchanged at 16th place while Nepal (17th) and Oman (19th) jumped a spot each, overtaking UAE (18th) and Canada (20th) respectively.

T20 World Cup debutants Italy gained 11 points and gained three spots from 26th to the 23rd rank. The European side managed to secure a brilliant win in their very first outing at the T20 World Cup, securing a 10-wicket win over Nepal.

The number of teams in the rankings is down from 102 to 98 as Fiji, Gambia, Greece and Israel did not make the cut as they did not play the requisite eight T20Is in the past three years. (ANI)