ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings explained

ICC Men's T20 Team Rankings
Administrator:	International Cricket Council
Creation:	2011; 13 years ago
Total Teams:	108 (Currently 90)
Current:	(267 rating)
Cumulative:	(36 months)
Continuous:	(29 months)
Highest:	(287 rating)
Updated:	2 July 2024

The ICC Men's T20 Team Rankings is an international Twenty20 cricket rankings system of the International Cricket Council.^[1] After every Twenty20 International (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.^[2] Teams need to have played at least eight T20I matches in the previous three to four years to remain in the rankings table.

World Champions India currently leads the ICC men's T20I team rankings, a position they have held since 21 February 2022.^[3]

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	Scenario	Team A		Team B		Team A		Team B		Team A		Team B		Total initial ratings	Total points earned (All 3 results)
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	Initial ratings at least 40 points apart		190	Stronger team loses: Own rating - 90	70	Weaker team ties: Own rating + 40	140	Stronger team ties: Own rating - 40	120	Weaker team loses: Own rating - 10	90	Stronger team wins: Own rating + 10	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
	24 October 2011^[4]	7 August 2012^[5]			140
	8 August 2012	11 September 2012			137
	12 September 2012	21 September 2012			130
	22 September 2012	28 September 2012			134
	29 September 2012	27 March 2014			134
	28 March 2014	2 April 2014			130
	3 April 2014	3 April 2014			131
	4 April 2014	5 April 2014			132
	6 April 2014	30 April 2014			133
	1 May 2014	6 September 2014			131
	7 September 2014	9 January 2016			135
	10 January 2016	30 January 2016			118
	31 January 2016	8 February 2016			120
	9 February 2016	11 February 2016			121
	12 February 2016	3 May 2016			127
	4 May 2016	31 October 2017			132
	1 November 2017	3 November 2017			124
	4 November 2017	6 November 2017			124
	7 November 2017	2 January 2018			124
	3 January 2018	27 January 2018			128
	28 January 2018	30 April 2020			286
	1 May 2020	5 September 2020			278
	6 September 2020	7 September 2020			273
	8 September 2020	30 November 2020			275
	1 December 2020	20 February 2022			278
	21 February 2022	Present	days	days	270
Last updated 08 July 2024

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

Team	Total Days	Highest Rating
		270
	1064	135
	884	286
	748	278
	574	132
	212	278
	42	137
	21	118

External links

ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

Notes and References

Web site: Twenty20 rankings launched with England on top. 24 October 2011. 24 October 2011.
Web site: David Richardson previews the release of the Reliance ICC T20I Rankings. 24 October 2011.
Web site: ICC Ranking for T20 teams International Cricket Council. 26 April 2023. www.icc-cricket.com. en.
Web site: ICC rankings - ICC Test, ODI and Twenty20 rankings. https://web.archive.org/web/20111025113029/http://www.espncricinfo.com/rankings/content/page/211271.html. 25 October 2011. 25 October 2011. 16 December 2018.
News: England rise to No.1 in ODIs. ESPNcricinfo. 8 August 2012.