ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

The ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings is an international Twenty20 cricket rankings system of the International Cricket Council. After every 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.

Points calculations

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	724 days		270
Last updated 23 August 2023

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

Team	Total Days	Highest Rating
Sri Lanka	1064	135
Pakistan	884	286
India	776	270
England	748	278
New Zealand	574	132
Australia	212	278
South Africa	42	137
West Indies	21	118

See also

• ICC men's ODI team rankings
• ICC men's Test team rankings
• ICC women's ODI and T20I rankings
• List of Twenty20 international records
• International cricket
• ICC player rankings

External links

• ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings