The competition for remaining at the top in every cricket format is becoming intense every year. Australia and India dominated the majority of the last two decades but now, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa are also competing for the top spot. Australia leads the ICC Test teams chart by 14 points over second-placed India. New Zealand sits at top of the ODI charts with England their closest rivals. And India leads the T20I rankings with Pakistan and England closing in.
Australia is set to host the 2022 T20 World Cup in October and qualified teams are doing their best to find momentum in the next three months. The Netherlands and Zimbabwe are the most recent teams to qualify for the mega tournament. They joined Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. The latest cricket news suggests that there will be a total of 16 teams (4 will be eliminated before the main stages) participating in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
ICC T20 teams and player charts keep changing with a lot of 20-over cricket being played lately. With T20 World Cup coming close, teams will be much fiercer and more competitive to make a mark this decade. Here are the current top-five teams ranked on current form and their T20I history.
Let’s look at the five most successful teams in T20 international format:
- Australia
Australia is the current champion of T20I cricket after beating New Zealand in the finals of the 2021 World Cup in UAE and Oman. This was the team’s first silverware in T20I cricket and now as a host, the Aussies are the favourite to win the upcoming tournament as well. Kangaroos rank 5th in the ICC T20I chart, 20 points behind leaders India, despite winning the World Cup just eight months ago.
The kangaroos have a balanced team in their current T20I setup. The veteran batter Aaron Finch is leading the batting lineup with David Warner and Steven Smith. World no. 1 bowler Josh Hazlewood partners Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc to form the best pace trio in T20I cricket. But their all-round options Glen Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Mitchell Marsh make them the best T20I team in the world.
- New Zealand
Team New Zealand is not far behind its neighbours in the T20I format, despite the team’s failure in winning ICC tournaments. Kiwis reached the finals last in the 2021 World Cup and were beaten by Australia by eight wickets. This came as a big blow for the fans as New Zealand suffered the same in the last ODI World Cup as well.
Kane Williamson continues to lead the Black Caps batting lineup with the latest centurion Martin Guptill closing to his final days. New Zealand’s best strength is its pace bowling unit consisting of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Lockie Ferguson. Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, Daryl Mitchell, and Glenn Phillips form one of the best all-round options in the T20I format.
- India
India is leading the current T20I charts with consistent performances in the shortest format of the game. India has a big pool in T20I cricket and recently fielded two different teams in the international series.
The former skipper Virat Kohli played a crucial role in India’s dominance in T20I cricket last decade. His current dip in form hasn’t affected India in any format but his presence still makes it one of the favourites to win the next World Cup. India is well stacked and settled in every department right now and will be focusing on forming the regular starting eleven for the upcoming tournament.
Also Read: 5 Reasons Why India is the Strong Contender to Win the West Indies vs India, 2022
- England
England ranks 2nd in both ODI and T20I chart currently and is looking strong under the new leadership of Jos Buttler. Eoin Morgan hung his boots last month after a successful stint as a skipper for the Three Lions for the last few years. Similar to the above teams, England can form two different teams for two different series.
The ODI champion has no shortage of big hitters in its current batting lineup. Buttler himself is having a dream run of form in T20I cricket with Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, and Jason Roy consistent with their performances. England is a little weak in its current options in the bowling unit, compare to the above four teams.
- Pakistan
Pakistan reached the finals of the first T20 World Cup in 2007 and lost against rivals India. They made it up for the fans by winning the next World Cup in 2009. But they struggled to perform at the highest level last in the majority of the last decade.
But the emergence of their skipper Babar Azam has set Pakistan on the right path in the last few years. Babar and Mohammad Rizwan occupy the top two spots in ICC T20 best batters’ chart. Star all-rounder Shadab Khan and pacers Shaheen Afridi are sensational with their bowling lately.
