ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

ICC men's T20I team rankings
Administrator International Cricket Council
Creation 2011
Number of teams 89
Current top ranking India (265 rating)
Longest cumulative top ranking Sri Lanka (35 months)
Longest continuous
top ranking		 Pakistan (28 months)
Highest rating Pakistan (287 rating)
Last updated on: 27 December 2023.

The ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings is an international Twenty20 cricket rankings system of the International Cricket Council. After every Twenty20 International (T20I) match, the two teams involved receive points based on a mathematical formula. The total of each team's points total is divided by the total number of matches to give a rating, and all teams are ranked on a table in order of rating. Teams need to have played at least six T20I matches in the previous three to four years to remain in the rankings table.

India currently leads the ICC men's T20I team rankings, a position they have held since 21 February 2022.

Current rankings

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings
Rank Team Matches Points Rating
1 India 68 18,041 265
2 England 48 12,305 256
3 New Zealand 55 13,988 254
4 Pakistan 53 13,325 251
5 Australia 39 9,760 250
6 South Africa 37 9,210 249
7 West Indies 44 10,800 245
8 Sri Lanka 38 8,940 235
9 Bangladesh 46 10,452 227
10 Afghanistan 34 7,443 219
11 Namibia 28 5,539 198
12 Ireland 47 9,117 194
13 Zimbabwe 50 9,576 192
14 Scotland 18 3,412 190
15 Netherlands 19 3,445 181
16 Nepal 27 4,796 178
17 United Arab Emirates 38 6,623 174
18 Oman 24 3,678 153
19 Papua New Guinea 22 3,173 144
20 Canada 18 2,528 140
21 Hong Kong 28 3,740 134
22 Uganda 65 8,602 132
23 United States 9 1,183 131
24 Jersey 19 2,427 128
25 Malaysia 41 5,132 125
26 Kuwait 28 3,360 120
27 Bahrain 36 3,972 110
28 Qatar 18 1,964 109
29 Kenya 44 4,697 107
30 Bermuda 14 1,494 107
31 Italy 17 1,712 101
32 Saudi Arabia 20 1,992 100
33 Tanzania 49 4,727 96
34 Spain 18 1,649 92
35 Germany 33 3,022 92
36 Singapore 28 2,209 79
37 Guernsey 16 1,212 76
38 Nigeria 30 2,261 75
39 Portugal 16 1,167 73
40 Cayman Islands 11 790 72
41 Denmark 23 1,622 71
42 Belgium 18 1,237 69
43 Isle of Man 15 949 63
44 Cambodia 11 690 63
45 Austria 29 1,682 58
46 Norway 15 852 57
47 Vanuatu 15 846 56
48 Botswana 29 1,543 53
49 Finland 18 953 53
50 Switzerland 16 835 52
51 Japan 15 768 51
52 Malawi 19 933 49
53 Czech Republic 24 1,101 46
54 France 16 730 46
55 Indonesia 22 993 45
56 Sweden 18 759 42
57 Philippines 17 698 41
58 Romania 28 1,149 41
59 Cook Islands 6 245 41
60 Argentina 11 424 39
61 Mozambique 24 864 36
62 Malta 44 1,535 35
63 Rwanda 70 2,255 32
64 Ghana 31 968 31
65 Fiji 10 304 30
66 Bhutan 11 325 30
67 Luxembourg 30 845 28
68 Sierra Leone 28 766 27
69 Cyprus 8 206 26
70 Bahamas 10 241 24
71 Belize 3 66 22
72 Hungary 19 367 19
73 Panama 11 206 19
74 Thailand 14 205 15
75 Serbia 19 214 14
76 Gibraltar 30 385 13
77 Bulgaria 30 289 10
78 Lesotho 9 82 9
79 Estonia 11 60 5
80 Turkey 7 26 4
81 Maldives 16 44 3
82 Cameroon 14 25 2
83 Gambia 9 11 1
84 Eswatini 18 0 0
85 Seychelles 7 0 0
86 Samoa 9 0 0
87 Mali 8 0 0
88 Croatia 10 0 0
89 Greece 6 0 0
References: ICC T20I rankings, As of 2 January 2024
"Matches" is the number of matches played in the 12–24 months since the May before last, plus half the number in the 24 months before that.

Points calculations

Time period

Each team scores points based on the results of their matches over the last 3−4 years − the matches played in the 12–24 months since the May before last, plus the matches played in the 24 months before that, for which the matches played and points earned both count half. For example:

May 2010 May 2011 May 2012 May 2013 May 2014 May 2015
Between May 2013 and April 2014: Results that were achieved during this period have 50% weighting Results that were achieved during this period have 100% weighting
Between May 2014 and April 2015: Results that were achieved during this period have 50% weighting Results that were achieved during this period have 100% weighting

Each May, the matches and points earned between 3 and 4 years ago are removed, and the matches and points earned between 1 and 2 years ago switch from 100% weighting to 50% weighting. For example, on 1 May 2014, the matches played between May 2010 and April 2011 were removed, and the matches played between May 2012 and April 2013 switched to 50% weighting (the matches from May 2011 to April 2012 would have already been at 50% following the previous rerating). This happens overnight, so can result in teams changing positions in the ranking table despite no one playing.


Find the points earned from a match

Each time two teams play another match, the rankings table is updated as follows, based on the ratings of the teams immediately before they played. To determine the teams' new ratings after a particular match, first calculate the points earned from the match:

If the gap between the ratings of the two teams before the match was less than 40 points, then points will be as follows:

Match result Points earned
Win Opponent's rating + 50
Tie Opponent's rating
Lose Opponent's rating − 50

If the gap between the ratings of the two teams before the match was at least 40 points, then points will be as follows:

Match result Points earned
Stronger team wins Own rating + 10
Weaker team loses Own rating − 10
Stronger team ties Own rating − 40
Weaker team ties Own rating + 40
Stronger team loses Own rating − 90
Weaker team wins Own rating + 90

Example

Suppose Team A, with an initial rating of 100, plays Team B. The table shows the points awarded to the two teams for 9 different initial ratings for B (ranging from 20 to 160), and the three possible match results.

Initial ratings Scenario Team A wins & Team B loses.
Points earned: 		Match tied.
Points earned: 		Team A loses & Team B wins. Points earned: Total initial ratings Total points earned (All 3 results)
Team A Team B Team A Team B Team A Team B Team A Team B
100 20 Initial ratings at least 40 points apart Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10 110 Weaker team loses: Own rating − 10 10 Stronger team ties: Own rating − 40 60 Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40 60 Stronger team loses: Own rating − 90 10 Weaker team wins: Own rating + 90 110 120 120
100 40 110 30 60 80 10 130 140 140
100 60 110 50 60 100 10 150 160 160
100 70 Initial ratings less than 40 points apart Win: Opponent's rating + 50 120 Lose: Opponent's rating − 50 50 Tie: Opponent's rating 70 Tie: Opponent's rating 100 Lose: Opponent's rating − 50 20 Win: Opponent's rating + 50 150 170 170
100 90 140 50 90 100 40 150 190 190
100 110 160 50 110 100 60 150 210 210
100 130 180 50 130 100 80 150 230 230
100 140 Initial ratings at least 40 points apart Weaker team wins: Own rating + 90 190 Stronger team loses: Own rating − 90 50 Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40 140 Stronger team ties: Own rating − 40 100 Weaker team loses: Own rating − 10 90 Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10 150 240 240
100 160 190 70 140 120 90 170 260 260

This illustrates that:

  • The winning team earns more points than the losing team. (Unless the ratings are more than 180 apart and the weaker team wins − highly unlikely.)
  • Winning always earns a team 100 points more than losing, and 50 more than tying.
  • The total points earned by the two teams is always the same as the total initial ratings of the two teams.
  • The points earned by a winning team increases as the initial rating (quality) of the opposition increases, within the constraints of earning at least its own initial rating + 10, and no more than its own initial rating + 90. A winning team therefore always earns more points than its initial rating, increasing its overall average rating.
  • The points earned by a losing team increases as the initial rating (quality) of the opposition increases, within the constraints of earning at least its own initial rating − 90, and no more than its own initial rating − 10. A losing team therefore always earns fewer points than its initial rating, decreasing its overall average rating.
  • In a tie, the weaker team usually earns more points than the stronger team (unless the initial ratings are at least 80 apart), reflecting the fact that a tie is a better result for the weaker team than the stronger team. Also, the stronger team will earn fewer points than its initial rating, decreasing its average, and the weaker team more points that its initial rating, increasing its average.
  • For a given result, the rule of how the two teams' points are calculated changes as the initial ratings change, from being based on teams' own ratings when one team is far stronger, to being based on the opponent's ratings when the teams are closely matched, back to being based on own ratings when the other team is far stronger. However, despite these sudden changes in the rule, the number of points awarded for each result changes smoothly as the initial ratings change.

Find the new ratings

  • Each team's rating is equal to its total points scored divided by the total matches played. (Series are not significant in these calculations).
  • Add the match points scored to the points already scored (in previous matches as reflected by the table), add one to the number of matches played, and determine the new rating.
  • Points earned by teams depend on the opponent's ratings, therefore this system needed to assign base ratings to teams when it started.

Historical rankings

This table lists the teams that have historically held the highest rating since the T20I rankings was introduced. In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full T20I status to all its members. As a result, ratings of leading teams since 2018 have been considerably higher, and cannot be directly compared to those before that date.

Country Start End Duration Cumulative Highest Rating
England 24 October 2011 7 August 2012 289 days 289 days 140
South Africa 8 August 2012 11 September 2012 35 days 35 days 137
England 12 September 2012 21 September 2012 10 days 299 days 130
South Africa 22 September 2012 28 September 2012 7 days 42 days 134
Sri Lanka 29 September 2012 27 March 2014 545 days 545 days 134
India 28 March 2014 2 April 2014 6 days 6 days 130
Sri Lanka 3 April 2014 3 April 2014 1 day 546 days 131
India 4 April 2014 5 April 2014 2 days 8 days 132
Sri Lanka 6 April 2014 30 April 2014 25 days 571 days 133
India 1 May 2014 6 September 2014 129 days 137 days 131
Sri Lanka 7 September 2014 9 January 2016 490 days 1061 days 135
West Indies 10 January 2016 30 January 2016 21 days 21 days 118
India 31 January 2016 8 February 2016 9 days 146 days 120
Sri Lanka 9 February 2016 11 February 2016 3 days 1064 days 121
India 12 February 2016 3 May 2016 82 days 228 days 127
New Zealand 4 May 2016 31 October 2017 546 days 546 days 132
Pakistan 1 November 2017 3 November 2017 3 days 3 days 124
New Zealand 4 November 2017 6 November 2017 3 days 549 days 124
Pakistan 7 November 2017 2 January 2018 57 days 60 days 124
New Zealand 3 January 2018 27 January 2018 25 days 574 days 128
Pakistan 28 January 2018 30 April 2020 824 days 884 days 286
Australia 1 May 2020 5 September 2020 128 days 128 days 278
England 6 September 2020 7 September 2020 2 days 301 days 273
Australia 8 September 2020 30 November 2020 84 days 212 days 275
England 1 December 2020 20 February 2022 447 days 748 days 278
India 21 February 2022 Present 697 days 925 days 270
Last updated 15 December 2023

The summary of teams that have held the highest rating by days, are:

Team Total Days Highest Rating
Sri Lanka 1064 135
India 890 270
Pakistan 884 286
England 748 278
New Zealand 574 132
Australia 212 278
South Africa 42 137
West Indies 21 118

See also