India consolidate No 1 spot in T20 world rankings

After the disappointment of their shock exit from the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year, India have made a dramatic turnaround and that is reflected in the International Cricket Council’s rankings for the format.

The subcontinent giants lost heavily to Pakistan and then New Zealand in Dubai last year to see their campaign end right at the start.

However, they have since won 12 T20 matches, rising to the top of the table.

Under the leadership of new captain Rohit Sharma, India have beaten New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka by 3-0 margins at home. They had taken over the top spot after their win over the West Indies in February and yesterday, India extended their lead to five ranking points after the ICC’s team rankings annual update.

Rohit’s India are now on 270 ranking points, five ahead of second-placed England and nine in front of Pakistan. However, T20 world champions Australia are in fifth position, just above finalists Black Caps.

In the Test arena, the Aussies stretched their lead in the red-ball team rankings and now lead second-placed India by nine points with a rating of 128.

Pat Cummins’ team preserved their position after a hard-fought 1-0 series win during their historic tour of Pakistan following their 4-0 Ashes win at home. There was bad news for new Test captain Ben Stokes as England fell nine points from 97 to 88 in the latest rankings, and are now in sixth place.

England have won just one Test match in the past 12 months, which was reflected in the latest update.

The new rating is the lowest mark England have dropped to since 1995, with their 4-1 series victory over India in 2018 not included in the list any more. Speaking at his captaincy unveiling on Tuesday, Stokes admitted the team’s run of results was unacceptable – England have won just one Test in their last 17 attempts.

“I think if we’re completely realistic, winning one game in 17 is nowhere near good enough,” Stokes said.

“Everyone needs to be realistic with that. What we can do is say ‘there’s only one way to go from here, which is up’.

“I can’t expect it to just click and all of a sudden we’re No 1 in a year’s time.

“That would be fantastic, but I’m very excited about the role I’ve got to play in hopefully making the England Test team great again.”

There was bad news for new Test captain Ben Stokes as England fell nine points ... and are sixth in the rankings