WI 4th in ICC T20 ratings

Just a few days before the start of the June 1-29 International Cricket Council (ICC) men’s Twenty/20 World Cup, the West Indies team jumped from sixth to fourth in the standings.

Two-time T20 World Cup champions, the West Indies warmed up for the World Cup with a brilliant 3-0 T20 series win against South Africa from May 23-26 at Sabina Park in Jamaica with both teams missing several key players being committed to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and others.

India is at the top of the T20 rankings with 264 rating points. They are closely followed by the last two T20 World Cup winners Australia with 257 rating points, who are second and England with 254 rating points who are third. Australia won the 2021 T20 World Cup title, while England copped the 2022 crown.

The Caribbean team are just behind the Englishmen on the standings with 252 rating points while New Zealand, are fifth on the standings with 250 points.

After the Proteas’ series loss in Jamaica, they dropped three spots to seventh position and now have 244 rating points.

At the last two editions of the T20 World Cup, the West Indies failed to advance to the knockout phase of either tournament.

West Indies got their latest series win against the Proteas without standout players such as Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran and captain Rovman Powell.

Brandon King captained the Caribbean team for the South Africa series. King climbed five spots to eighth in the T20 batting rankings as he scored 159 runs in the series. Opening batsman Johnson Charles, who won the Man of the Match in the final T20, climbed 17 spots and now sits at 20th. Pooran is tied at 18th spot.

Meanwhile, in the bowling department, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein slipped five spots and is now ranked eighth.

The Windies opened their World Cup campaign on June 2 versus Papua New Guinea in Guyana.