Williamson, Masakadza, Cremer and McClenaghan break into the top 10 for the first time in their careers
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 MRF Tyres 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 Mar 8.
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 MRF Tyres 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 fromMar 8 in Nagpur and Dharamsala with the table-toppers progressing to the second round, which will start in Nagpur on Mar 15.
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 onApr 3.
In the lead-up to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, Australia and India will play three T20Is on Jan 26, 29 and 31, the UAE will host the Netherlands for a T20I onFeb 3, South Africa will face England in two T20Is on Feb 19 and 21, the Asia Cup T20 tournament will be held from Feb 24 to Mar 6, while South Africa will host Australia for three T20Is on Mar 4, 6 and 9.
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.
RANK TEAM POINTS
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 Pts Ave SR HS Rating
1 ( - ) Aaron Finch Aus 854 39.78 152 892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
2 ( - ) Virat Kohli Ind 845 44.17 133 897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014
3 ( - ) Alex Hales Eng 795 34.71 136 866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014
4 ( - ) Faf du Plessis SA 758 39.28 135 843 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
5 ( - ) Martin Guptill NZ 741 34.70 130 793 v SA at Hamilton 2012
6 (+5) Kane Williamson NZ 733 36.69 128 737 v Pak at Hamilton 2016
7 (-2) Chris Gayle WI 703 35.15 143 831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012
8 (+11) H. Masakadza Zim 699! 31.42 120 699 v Ban at Khulna 2016
9 (-1) M. Shahzad Afg 681! 30.86 136 681 v Zim at Sharjah 2016
10 (-1) Kusal Perera SL 678* 27.09 133 751 v SA at Chittagong 2014
Selected rankings (top 50)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave SR HS Rating
18 (+3) Umar Akmal Pak 606 26.89 124 709 v Zim at Harare 2011
22 (-4) Ahmed Shehzad Pak 579 24.76 116 709 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
23 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 561 24.24 125 618 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
24 (+39) Malcolm Waller Zim 545*! 29.18 154 545 v Ban at Khulna 2016
26 ( - ) M. Hafeez Pak 540 22.93 115 649 v SL at Dubai 2013
37 (-1) Shahid Afridi Pak 491 18.23 149 537 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2010
39 (-1) Tamim Iqbal Ban 477 20.46 108 550 v SL at Chittagong 2014
44 (-7) E. Chigumbura Zim 455 19.14 147 529 v Afg at Bulawayo 2015
BOWLERS (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave Eco. HS Rating
1 ( - ) Samuel Badree WI 751 14.96 5.39 855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
2 ( - ) R. Ashwin Ind 681 26.96 7.24 717 v SA at Mirpur 2014
3 (+1) Shahid Afridi Pak 672 23.90 6.60 814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009
4 (-1) S. Senanayake SL 671* 17.45 6.19 712 v Eng at The Oval 2014
5 (+9) Graeme Cremer Zim 669! 16.59 6.72 669 v Ban at Khulna 2016
6 (-1) Mitchell Starc Aus 659 19.53 6.72 702 v Pak at Dubai 2014
7 (-1) Lasith Malinga SL 657 21.02 7.27 684 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2015
8 (+3) M. McClenaghan NZ 643! 25.80 7.68 643 v Pak at Wellington 2016
9 (-2) Imran Tahir SA 641* 15.77 6.45 675 v WI at Johannesburg 2015
10 (-2) Dawlat Zadran Afg 636! 18.83 7.35 636 v Zim at Sharjah 2016
Selected rankings (top 50)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Ave Eco. HS Rating
12 (-2) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 622 20.96 6.71 672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
13 (+26) Adam Milne NZ 613*! 20.83 7.35 613 v Pak at Wellington 2016
23 (-6) Sohail Tanvir Pak 554 26.97 7.22 600 v Eng at Dubai 2015
33 (+2) M. Mortaza Ban 522 37.73 8.17 527 v Zim at Khulna 2016
35 (+15) Al-Amin Hossain Ban 520* 15.15 6.80 541 v Zim at Khulna 2016
37 (+70) M. Rahman Ban 511* 14.90 5.45 532 v Zim at Khulna 2016
46 (+84) Tendai Chisoro Zim 492*! 17.30 6.17 492 v Ban at Khulna 2016
47 (+4) Sean Williams Zim 488* 31.40 7.24 500 v Ban at Khulna 2016
ALL-ROUNDERS (top 5)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 ( - ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 349 408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
2 ( - ) Shahid Afridi Pak 330 413 v NZ at Dubai 2009
3 ( - ) Shane Watson Aus 304 557 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012
4 ( - ) M. Hafeez Pak 303 441 v SL at Dubai 2013
5 ( - ) Angelo Mathews SL 289! 289 v NZ at New Plymouth 2016
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