Kane Williamson breaks into the top 10 for the first time in the ICC T20I Rankings

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 8 March.

ICC T20I Player Rankings

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has moved up five places to a career-best sixth after he top-scored with 175 runs in the series while left-am fast bowler Mitchell McClenaghan has broken into the top 10 in the eighth position after rising three places.

However, the biggest Kiwi mover is fast bowler Adam Milne. The right-arm fast bowler was the leading wicket-taker in the series with eight wickets, for which he has been rewarded with a jump of 26 places that has put him just outside the top 10 in 13th spot.

For Pakistan, the only positive news is the movement of middle-order batsman Umar Akmal (18th after rising three places) and captain Shahid Afridi, who has returned to the top three in the third position in the bowlers’ chart after gaining one place.

Zimbabwe’s charge in the player rankings is led by Hamilton Masakadza and Graeme Cremer.

Hamilton aggregated 222 runs in four matches, including a series-leveling 93 not out in the final match of the series, which has helped him vault 11 places to eighth in the batting table. Malcolm Waller, who scored 128 runs in the series, has rocketed 39 places to join Hashim Amla of South Africa in 39th position.

Cremer’s six wickets in the series have meant he has stormed up nine places to a career-high fifth position. The wrist-spinner has gained 61 points and is now just two points behind the third-ranked Pakistan captain.

Tendai Chisoro took four wickets with his fast bowling, which has given him a lift of 84 places that has put him just inside the top 50 in 46th position.

For Bangladesh, the good news is that Mustafizur Rahman has continued to make an upward movement. The fast bowler has climbed 78 places and is now in 37th spot after taking four wickets in the series. Al-Amin Hossain has jumped 15 places to 35th while captain Mashrafe Mortaza is 33rd after rising two places.

Sabbir Hussain was his side’s leading run-getter with 140 runs for which he has earned 59 places, which has put him in a career-best 79th position.

ICC T20I Team Rankings

Meanwhile, in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Team Championship, New Zealand has leapfrogged South Africa and Pakistan into the 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 8 March in Nagpur and Dharamsala with the table-toppers progressing to the second round, which will start in Nagpur on 15 March.

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 3 April.

In the lead-up to the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, Australia and India will play three T20Is on 26, 29 and 31 January, the UAE will host the Netherlands for a T20I on 3 February, South Africa will face England in two T20Is on 19 and 21 February, the Asia Cup T20 tournament will be held from 24 February to 6 March, while South Africa will host Australia for three T20Is on 4, 6 and 9 March.

When Australia hosts India next week in Adelaide, it will need to win the series to claim the number-one position. In the 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.

Team Rankings table:

Rank	Team	Ratings
1	West Indies	118
2	Australia	118
3	Sri Lanka	118
4	England	117
5	New Zealand	116
6	South Africa	115
7	Pakistan	113
8	India	110
9	Afghanistan	80
10	Scotland	66
11	Bangladesh	64
12	Hong Kong	61
13	Netherlands	61
14	Zimbabwe	54
15	Ireland	42

Batsmen (Top 10):

Rank	Player	Team	Points
1	Aaron Finch	Australia	854
2	Virat Kohli	India	845
3	Alex Hales	England	795
4	Faf du Plessis	South Africa	758
5	Martin Guptill	New Zealand	741
6	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	733
7	Chris Gayle	West Indies	703
8	Hamilton Masakadza	Zimbabwe	699
9	Mohammad Shehzad	Afghanistan	681
10	Kusal Perera	Sri Lanka	678

Bowlers (Top 10):

Rank	Bowler	Team	Ratings
1	Samuel Badree	West Indies	751
2	Ravichandran Ashwin	India	681
3	Shahid Afridi	Pakistan	672
4	Sachitra Senanayake	Sri Lanka	671
5	Graeme Cremer	Zimbabwe	669
6	Mitchell Starc	Australia	659
7	Lasith Malinga	Sri Lanka	651
8	Mitchell McClenaghan	New Zealand	643
9	Imran Tahir	South Africa	641
10	Dawlat Zardan	Afghanistan	636

The rankings were updated after the conclusion of New Zealand-Pakistan series and Zimbabwe-Bangladesh series.