New Zealand and Zimbabwe players have made impressive gains in the latest MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings, which were released on Saturday morning.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 March 8.
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 from March 8 in Nagpur and Dharamsala with the table-toppers progressing to the second round, which will start in Nagpur on March 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 on April 3.
In the lead-up to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, Australia and India will play three T20Is on January 26, 29 and 31. The UAE will host the Netherlands for a T20I on February 3, South Africa will face England in two T20Is on February 19 and 21.
The Asia Cup T20 tournament will be held from February 24 to March 6, while South Africa will host Australia for three T20Is on March 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.