Sri Lanka's No. 1 T20I ranking on the line as teams continue ICC WT20 2016 preparations

The India event will take place from 11 March to 3 April and Sri Lanka will defend the title it won after defeating India by six wickets in the final in Mirpur last year. The West Indies had lifted the silverware in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in October 2012 when it beat the home side by six wickets.

As many as 12 T20I matches will be played this month and the action will begin on Monday with Sri Lanka’s number-one position on the ICC T20I Team Rankings on the line when it takes on third-ranked West Indies.

Sri Lanka leads the West Indies by eight points but if the West Indies wins both the matches, then both sides will swap places. In this scenario, the West Indies will rise to 123 points, two points ahead of second-ranked Pakistan, while Sri Lanka will slip to 118 points, three points behind Pakistan and one ahead of fourth-ranked Australia.

If the series is tied at one-all, Sri Lanka will retain its top spot but the West Indies will join Australia on 118 points and because it will be ahead of Australia when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point, the West Indies will be ranked third.

In contrast, Sri Lanka will extend its advantage over Pakistan to 10 points and the West Indies will drop to fifth on 113 points if the home side wins both the matches.

The Sri Lanka-West Indies series concludes on 12 November but a day later, 10th-ranked Bangladesh will square-off against 14th-ranked Zimbabwe. A 2-0 win for Bangladesh will mean it will open up a six-point advantage over 11th-ranked Hong Kong but a 1-1 series draw will mean Bangladesh will fall behind Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the 12thspot.

The other three series of the month include Pakistan v England, Hong Kong v Oman and Afghanistan v Oman.

The ICC T20I Team Rankings will be updated after each match but the ICC T20I Player Rankings will be updated following the first T20I between Hong Kong and Oman.

T20Is in the month of November

9 Nov – Sri Lanka v West Indies, Pallekele

12 Nov – Sri Lanka v West Indies, Colombo

13 Nov – Bangladesh v Zimbabwe, Mirpur

15 Nov – Bangladesh v Zimbabwe, Mirpur

21 Nov – Hong Kong v Oman, Abu Dhabi

25 Nov – Hong Kong v Oman, Abu Dhabi

26 Nov – Pakistan v England, Dubai

26 Nov – Hong Kong v Oman, Abu Dhabi

27 Nov – Pakistan v England, Dubai

29 Nov – Afghanistan v Oman, Abu Dhabi

30 Nov – Pakistan v England, Sharjah

30 Nov – Afghanistan v Oman, Abu Dhabi

ICC T20I Team Rankings (as on 8 November)

Rank    Team        Points

1    Sri Lanka    126

2    Pakistan    121

3    Australia    118

4    West Indies    117

5    South Africa    115

6    India        110

7    New Zealand    108

8    England    107

9    Afghanistan    81

10    Bangladesh    73

11    Hong Kong    72

12    Scotland    66

13    Netherlands    61

14    Zimbabwe    50

15    Ireland        42

(Developed by David Kendix)

ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 8 November)

Batsmen (top 10)

Rank    Player        Team    Points    Avge    S/Rate    Highest Ranking

   1    Aaron Finch    Aus     854      39.78    152    892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014

   2    Virat Kohli    Ind     845      44.17    133    897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014

   3    Alex Hales    Eng     841      36.40    137    866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014

   4    Faf du Plessis    SA     758      39.28    135    843 v Ban at Mirpur 2015

   5     Chris Gayle    WI     732      35.15    143    831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012

   6     B. McCullum    NZ     712      35.66    136    849 v Ban at Pallekele 2012

   7     Kusal Perera    SL     680*     27.20    134    751 v SA at Chittagong 2014

   8     Eoin Morgan    Eng     675      29.87    134    872 v Ind at Old Trafford 2011

   9     Martin Guptill    NZ     653      32.13    123    793 v SA at Hamilton 2012

  10     David Warner    Aus     652      28.96    138    826 v WI at St Lucia 2010

Bowlers (top 10)

Rank    Player        Team    Points    Avge    Eco.    Highest Ranking

   1     Samuel Badree    WI     782      14.96     5.39    855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

   2     Sunil Narine    WI     760      17.52     5.70    817 v Pak at St. Vincent 2013

   3     S. Senanayake    SL     684*     16.66     5.45    712 v Eng at The Oval 2014

   4     R. Ashwin    Ind     681      26.96     7.24    717 v SA at Mirpur 2014

   5     Mitchell Starc    Aus     659      19.53     6.72    702 v Pak at Dubai 2014

   6     S. Al Hasan    Ban     652      20.22     6.49    672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014

   7     Lasith Malinga    SL     647      21.72     7.38    680 v Eng at Bristol 2011

   8     N. McCullum    NZ     642      22.85     6.90    709 v Zim at Harare 2011

   9     Imran Tahir    SA     641*     15.77     6.45    675 v WI at Johannesburg 2015

  10     Shahid Afridi    Pak     638      24.30     6.60    814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009

All-rounders (top five)

Rank    Player        Team    Points    HS Ranking

   1     S. Al Hasan    Ban     393    408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015

   2     M. Hafeez    Pak     315    441 v SL at Dubai 2013

   3     Shahid Afridi    Pak     311    413 v NZ at Dubai 2009

   4     Shane Watson    Aus     304    557 v SA at Colombo (RPS) 2012

   5     M. Samuels    WI     298    321 v SL at Mirpur 2014

!indicates career-highest rating