· Only 18 points separate Dhoni’s side from eighth-ranked defending champion Sri Lanka
· Host side aims to become the first team to lift the silverware in front of home crowd; South Africa hopes to end 18-year title drought; Australia targets missing trophy in its collection
· Equally talented, matched and resourced sides lock horns in first round of the tournament on Tuesday in Nagpur
· Finch, Ashwin and Watson to start as highest-ranked batsman, bowler and all-rounder respectively
India has strengthened its reputation as a strong title contender for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 after it was confirmed on Sunday that it will enter the home tournament as the number-one ranked side in the world.
The sixth edition of the tournament, to be held in India for the first time, will start on Tuesday when 13th-ranked Zimbabwe takes on 14th-ranked Hong Kong in Nagpur, which will be followed by the match between ninth-ranked Afghanistan and 11th-ranked Scotland. The second round will kick off on 15 March, also in Nagpur, when India goes head to head with New Zealand. The final will be played at Eden Gardens on 3 April.
The 10-team women’s competition will also be played alongside the men’s second round with the semi-finals and final to take place before the men’s knock-out matches at the same venues.
India’s number-one ranking was sealed late Sunday evening after Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side won the Asia Cup in Mirpur, hours after Australia had chased down South Africa’s 204 to level the three-match series at one-all. Irrespective of which side now wins the series in Cape Town on Wednesday, it will not be enough to dislodge India from the top pedestal.
India, which won the inaugural event in South Africa and finished runner-up in Bangladesh two years ago, is on 127 points, nine points clear of 2012 winner West Indies and South Africa, who are on equal points (118). New Zealand is fourth on 116, followed by 2010 winner England in fifth, 2010 losing finalist Australia in sixth, 2009 champion Pakistan in seventh and defending champion Sri Lanka in eighth.
These eight sides qualified directlyfor the second round after finishing inside the top eight of the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings as on 30 April 2015. Tenth-ranked Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have been joined in the first round by Afghanistan, Hong Kong, 15th-ranked Ireland, 12th-ranked Netherlands, 11th-ranked Scotland and 16th-ranked Oman, who qualified for the tournament proper after claiming the top six positions in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 in Ireland and Scotland.
Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands and debutant Oman are in Group A, while Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Scotland and Zimbabwe are in Group B. If rankings have anything to do with qualification, then Bangladesh and Afghanistan should progress from Group A and B respectively. But it would not be wise to under-estimate the strength, talent, experience and ability of Ireland and Netherlands as well as Zimbabwe and Scotland. This means plenty of action and tight finishes are in store in the first-round matches.
Since the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, India has played 16 matches and has won 11, including 10 out of 11 T20Is this year. And this is reflected in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings which boasts a number of its players enjoying high rankings.
In the batting table, Virat Kohli is second and is followed by Rohit Sharma (11th), Suresh Raina (16th), Yuvraj Singh (22nd), Dhoni (43rd) and Shikhar Dhawan (48th). In the absence of Sunil Narine, second-ranked Ravichandran Ashwin will start as the highest-ranked bowler while Ravindra Jadeja is 11th, Jasprit Bumrah is 27thand Yuvraj is 43rd. Yuvraj is also India’s highest-ranked all-rounder in sixth position.
West Indies’ charge will once again be led by Chris Gayle, who is occupying the seventh position. The other top-ranked West Indies batsmen are Marlon Samuels (19th), Dwayne Bravo (32nd) and Dwayne Smith (50th), while 49th-ranked Bravo is its highest-ranked bowler. Captain Darren Sammy is 74th in the batting table, 62ndin the bowlers’ category and 25th in the all-rounders’ list.
South Africa, which is searching for its first ICC major since winning the ICC Champions Trophy 1998 (then called ICC Knock-Out), has all the ammunition it needs to go the full distance. Since the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, it has won 10 out of 16 matches. It boasts as many as six batsmen inside the top 50, led by captain Faf du Plessis in third, JP Duminy in 15th, Hashim Amla in 21st, Quinton de Kock in 24th, David Miller in 28th and AB de Villiers in 34th. Its bowlers also feature prominently in the list with Imran Tahir in third, David Wiese in eighth, Kyle Abbott in 12th, Kagiso Rabada in 30th and Dale Steyn in 45th.
Australia will be aiming to complete a Career Grand Slam by winning the missing ICC World Twenty20 India 2016. And though it has lost more than 50 per cent of matches it has played since the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 (played 10, won four, lost six to date), it remains a force to be reckoned with in this format. Australia’s Aaron Finch will start as the number-one ranked batsman, while its other top batsmen are David Warner (ninth), Shane Watson (13th) and Glenn Maxwell (31st). Its highest-ranked bowlers are Watson and Maxwell, who share 35th spot, while James Faulkner is 37th. Watson will start the tournament as world’s best all-rounder with Maxwell in seventh position.
Sides featuring in the first-round matches from 8-13 March in Dharamsala and Nagpur include a number of players who feature in the top 50.
Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza is the highest-ranked batsman in eighth position. He is followed by Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shahzad (12th), Sabbir Rahman of Bangladesh (20th), Zimbabwe’s Malcolm Waller (23rd), Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh (25th), the Netherlands duo of Stephan Myburgh and Wesley Barresi in 27th and 36th respectively, Kyle Coetzer of Scotland (37th), Paul Stirling of Ireland (38th), Hong Kong’s Babar Hayat (39th), Ireland captain William Porterfield (40th), Richard Berrington of Scotland (42nd), the Netherlands captain Peter Borren (45th) and Zimbabwe’s Elton Chigumbura (47th).
In the absence of Zimbabwe’s fifth-ranked Graeme Creamer, Afghanistan’s seventh-ranked Dawlat Zadran is the highest-ranked bowler from the eight sides. He is followed by the Bangladesh pair of Shakib (ninth) and Al-Amin Hossain (15th), Mudassar Bukhari of Netherlands (17th), George Dockrell of Ireland (20th), Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan (21st), 28th-ranked Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, Timm van der Gugten of the Netherlands (29th), Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien (32nd), Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza (33rd), Hong Kong’s Nadeem Ahmad (39th), Hamza Hotak of Afghanistan (41st) and Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams (46th).
Bangladesh’s Shakib trails number-one ranked Watson by just one point in the all-rounders’ category, while Afghanistan’s Nabi is just outside the top 10 in 11th position.
Although India seems to be the in-form side and the team to beat in the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, the fact of the matter is that neither has any side won the ICC World Twenty20 twice nor has any home side lifted the silverware in front of its home crowd. Whether this will change come 3 April, only time will tell!
While the team rankings will be updated after each match, the player rankings will not be updated after the conclusion of second-round matches on 28 March.
The T20I predictor function is available here.
MRF Tyres ICC T20I Rankings (as on 7 March, after the Asia Cup final and second T20I between South Africa and Australia)
Rank Team Points
1. India 127
2. West Indies 118
3. South Africa 118
4. New Zealand 116
5. England 112
6. Australia 111
7. Pakistan 110
8. Sri Lanka 109
9. Afghanistan 77
10. Bangladesh 74
11. Scotland 69
12. Netherlands 59
13. Zimbabwe 54
14. Hong Kong 49
15. Ireland 48
16. UAE 38
17. Oman 32
(Developed by David Kendix)
MRF Tyres ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 7 March, after the Asia Cup final and second T20I between South Africa and Australia)
Batsmen (top 25)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge S/Rate HS Rating
1 ( – ) Aaron Finch Aus 858 39.82 153 892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
2 ( – ) Virat Kohli Ind 834 52.61 133 897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014
3 (+1) Faf du Plessis SA 797 41.29 136 843 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
4 (-1) Alex Hales Eng 786 33.94 135 866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014
5 ( – ) Martin Guptill NZ 741 34.70 130 793 v SA at Hamilton 2012
6 ( – ) Kane Williamson NZ 733 36.69 128 737 v Pak at Hamilton 2016
7 ( – ) Chris Gayle WI 703 35.15 143 831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012
8 ( – ) H. Masakadza Zim 699! 31.42 120 699 v Ban at Khulna 2016
9 (+8) David Warner Aus 669 29.47 141 826 v WI at St Lucia 2010
10 ( – ) Eoin Morgan Eng 666 30.29 133 872 v Ind at Old Trafford 2011
11 (+5) Rohit Sharma Ind 653 32.54 129 681 v Ban at Mirpur 2016
12 (-3) M. Shahzad Afg 649 29.35 136 681 v Zim at Sharjah 2016
13 (-4) Shane Watson Aus 639 28.17 145 832 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012
14 (+3) T. Dilshan SL 634 28.24 120 802 v NZ at Colombo (RPS) 2009
15 (-3) JP Duminy SA 624 36.51 122 713 v NZ at Chittagong 2014
16 (-5) Suresh Raina Ind 619 31.40 133 776 v Eng at Kolkata 2011
17 (+1) Umar Akmal Pak 606 27.30 123 709 v Zim at Harare 2011
18 (-4) Kusal Perera SL 589* 27.09 133 751 v SA at Chittagong 2014
19 ( – ) Marlon Samuels WI 582 28.84 122 723 v Ban at Mirpur 2012
20 (+44) Sabbir Rahman Ban 574*! 32.64 119 574 v Ind at Mirpur 2016
21 (+2) Hashim Amla SA 567 27.27 126 611 v Ind at Mirpur 2014
22 (-1) Yuvraj Singh Ind 566 30.91 139 793 v SA at St Lucia 2010
23 ( – ) Malcolm Waller Zim 545*! 29.18 154 545 v Ban at Khulna 2016
24 (+4) Quinton de Kock SA 544* 28.20 123 573 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
25 (-3) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 543 23.19 122 618 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
Bowlers (top 25)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Avge Eco. HS Rating Ranking
1 ( – ) Sunil Narine WI 773 17.75 5.69 817 v Pak at St. Vincent 2013
2 ( – ) R. Ashwin Ind 740 21.56 6.84 765 v SL at Visakhapatnam 2016
3 (+4) Imran Tahir SA 712 15.42 6.58 729 v Aus at Durban 2016
4 ( – ) Shahid Afridi Pak 673 24.11 6.57 814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009
5 ( – ) Graeme Cremer Zim 669! 16.59 6.72 669 v Ban at Khulna 2016
6 ( – ) M. McClenaghan NZ 643! 25.80 7.68 643 v Pak at Wellington 2016
7 (+1) Dawlat Zadran Afg 633 19.33 7.25 636 v Zim at Sharjah 2016
8 (+21) David Wiese SA 626*! 17.39 7.36 626 v Aus at Johannesburg 2016
9 (+1) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 625 21.01 6.68 672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
10 (-7) S. Senanayake SL 623 19.33 6.35 712 v Eng at The Oval 2014
11 (-2) Ravindra Jadeja Ind 622 30.24 7.02 651 v Pak at Mirpur 2016
12 (+14) Kyle Abbott SA 615* 24.00 7.83 628 v Aus at Durban 2016
13= (+2) N. Kulasekara SL 613 22.18 7.16 676 v Aus at Melbourne 2013
( – ) Adam Milne NZ 613*! 20.83 7.35 613 v Pak at Wellington 2016
15 (+17) Al-Amin Hossain Ban 612*! 14.09 7.12 612 v Ind at Mirpur 2016
16 (-5) Mitchell Starc Aus 596 19.53 6.72 702 v Pak at Dubai 2014
17 (-3) M. Bukhari Net 593 17.30 6.62 616 v NEP at Amstelveen 2015
18 (-6) Lasith Malinga SL 582 20.28 7.26 684 v WI at Colombo (RPS) 2015
19 (-2) N. McCullum NZ 580 22.85 6.90 709 v Zim at Harare 2011
20 (-5) George Dockrell Ire 578 16.02 6.31 668 v Zim at Sylhet 2014
21 (-2) Mohammad Nabi Afg 575! 27.48 7.07 575 v HK at Mirpur 2016
22 (-2) Ahsan Jamil Net 564 14.65 7.33 616 v NEP at Rotterdam 2015
23 (+104) M. Naveed UAE 557*! 16.00 5.77 557 v Ind at Mirpur 2016
24 (-6) Pat Cummins Aus 551* 18.80 6.69 610 v Eng at Cardiff 2015
25 (+2) Angelo Mathews SL 550 27.60 6.64 645 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2013
All-rounders (top 10)
Rank (+/-) Player Team Pts Highest Ranking
1 ( – ) Shane Watson Aus 340 557 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012
2 ( – ) Shakib Al Hasan Ban 339 408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
3 ( – ) Shahid Afridi Pak 319 413 v NZ at Dubai 2009
4 ( – ) M. Hafeez Pak 285 441 v SL at Dubai 2013
5 ( – ) Marlon Samuels WI 282 321 v SL at Mirpur 2014
6 (+1) Yuvraj Singh Ind 279 363 v Aus at Rajkot 2013
7 (+6) Glenn Maxwell Aus 276*/*! 276 v SA at Johannesburg 2016
8 ( – ) Angelo Mathews SL 255 289 v NZ at New Plymouth 2016
9 ( – ) Dwayne Bravo WI 247 255 v NZ at Auckland 2014
10 (-4) JP Duminy SA 245 /* 276 v Ban at Mirpur 2015
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
Essential media information on the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 can be found here.
India to enter ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 as the number-one ranked T20I side added by Indian newspaper Sydney on
View all posts by Indian newspaper Sydney →