India batsman Virat Kohli’s excellent run of form in the just-concluded series against Australia has allowed him to hold on to the status of world’s number-one ranked Twenty20 International batsman in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I Batsmen, which were released today.

Virat Kholi has retained his world’s number-one ranking in Twenty20 International. Photo by: Pal Pillai - BCCI - SPORTZPICS

Virat Kholi has retained his world’s number-one ranking in Twenty20 International. Photo by: Pal Pillai – BCCI – SPORTZPICS

Kohli was the leading run-scorer in the series with 199 runs, including a top score of 90. The India Test captain was undoubtedly one of the players who shaped India’s series win, allowing it to replace the West Indies as the top-ranked T20I side in the latest MRF Tyres ICC T20I Championship table.

Also making an impact was Rohit Sharma, who scored 143 runs in the series, including two half-centuries. As a result, he has moved up one place to 17th, while Suresh Raina, who scored a match-winning 49 not out in Sydney, has gained two places and is now in 13th position.

Australia’s opener Aaron Finch has retained his second position in the batsmen’s rankings, while Shane Watson, who captained in the Sydney T20I and scored an unbeaten 124, has vaulted places to 11th.  He is now just 13 points away from returning into the top 10, his best ranking, of course, was number-one which he achieved in 2012.

In the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I Bowlers, India’s Ravindra Jadeja has returned to the table in 18th position, while Watson has stormed up 11 places to 25th spot.

Watson has claimed the number-one spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for T20I All-rounders, while moving ahead of Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi.

The  MRF Tyres ICC T20I Championship table now has India in the top position, while Australia has dropped six places to eighth. India now leads second-ranked West Indies by two points. A lot of T20I cricket needs to be played before the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 starts in Nagpur on 8 March, which will certainly have an impact on the championship table.

ICC T20I TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (as on 1 February, after the conclusion of Australia – India series)

RANK TEAM             POINTS

1          India                120

2          West Indies      118

3          Sri Lanka         118

4          England           117

5          New Zealand   116

6          South Africa    115

7          Pakistan           113

8          Australia          110

9          Afghanistan     80

10        Scotland           66

11        Bangladesh      64

12        Hong Kong      62

13        Netherlands     61

14        Zimbabwe        54

15        Ireland             42

(Developed by David Kendix)

ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 1 February, after India Australia series)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank      (+/-)        Player             Team           Pts        Average  S/Rate   Highest Ranking

1           ( – )          Virat Kohli            Ind          892        50.62      137         897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014

2           (RE)        Aaron Finch          Aus         868        41.61      151         892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

3           (-1)          Alex Hales            Eng         795        34.71      136         866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014

4           (-1)          F du Plessis            SA           758        39.28      135         843 v Ban at Mirpur 2015

5           (-1)          Martin Guptill       NZ          741        34.70      130         793 v SA at Hamilton 2012

6           (-1)          K Williamson        NZ          733        36.69      128         737 v Pak at Hamilton 2016

7           (-1)          C Gayle               WI            703        35.15      143         831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012

8           (-1)          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

Other selected rankings

 

Rank     (+/-)       Player                Team       Pts         Avge     S/Rate    HS Rating

11          (+5)         Shane Watson      Aus         665        28.58     146         832 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012

13          (+2)         Suresh Raina        Ind          660        33.53     136         776 v Eng at Kolkata 2011

17          (+1)         Rohit Sharma       Ind          641!       34.82     129         641 v Aus at St Kitts 2016

18         (-7)          David Warner       Aus         623          28.72    139         826 v WI at St Lucia 2010

19         (-2)          Umar Akmal        Pak         606          26.89    124         709 v Zim at Harare 2011

20         (RE)        Yuvraj Singh        Ind          589          31.70    144         793 v SA at St Lucia 2010

 

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Avge      HS Rating

1           ( – )          Sunil Narine          WI          773         17.75     817 v Pak at St. Vincent 2013

2           ( – )          R Ashwin               Ind          692         26.45     717 v SA at Mirpur 2014

3           ( – )          Shahid Afridi        Pak         672         23.90     814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009

4           ( – )          S Senanayake      SL           671*      17.45     712 v Eng at The Oval 2014

5           ( – )          Graeme Cremer   Zim         669!       16.59     669 v Ban at Khulna 2016

6           (+1)         Lasith Malinga     SL           657         21.02     684 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2015

7           (+1)         M McClenaghan NZ          643!       25.80     643 v Pak at Wellington 2016

8           (+1)         Imran Tahir          SA           641*      15.77     675 v WI at Johannesburg 2015

9           (+1)         Dawlat Zadran     Afg         636!       18.83     636 v Zim at Sharjah 2016

10         (+1)         N Kulasekara       SL           628         23.43     676 v Aus at Melbourne 2013

 

Other selected rankings

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         Avge      HS Rating

12         (-6)          Mitchell Starc       Aus         620        19.53     702 v Pak at Dubai 2014

18         (RE)        Ravindra Jadeja  Ind          575        32.78     579 v Aus at Melbourne 2016

19         (-5)          Pat Cummins       Aus         574*      18.80     610 v Eng at Cardiff 2015

25         (+11)      Shane Watson      Aus         546         25.28     671 v Pak at Colombo (RPS) 2012

 

All-rounders (top five)

Rank     (+/-)       Player                  Team     Pts         HS Rating

1           (+2)         Shane Watson      Aus         363        557 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012

2           (-1)          Shakib Al Hasan Ban        349        408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015

3           (-1)          Shahid Afridi        Pak         330        413 v NZ at Dubai 2009

4           ( – )          M Hafeez              Pak         303        441 v SL at Dubai 2013

5           ( – )          A Mathews           SL           289!       289 v NZ at New Plymouth 2016