Ranking Shifts Between Two T20 World Cups: Top Players on the Move

By Rohit Sankar

Since the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, the cricket landscape has seen significant changes. A new cricket stadium in New York is set to host several matches in this year’s tournament, including the much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash on June 9.

Team fortunes have also seen dramatic shifts, with the West Indies, the co-hosts, making a remarkable turnaround. After a disappointing first-round exit in 2022, the West Indies have bounced back, defeating defending champions England, India, and South Africa in bilateral series in 2023. They are also in excellent form for the upcoming tournament, having recently thrashed South Africa 3-0 in a bilateral series.

England, the 2022 champions, have had a mixed run since their victory. The Jos Buttler-led side has won five and lost eight T20Is.

Ranking Rise of T20 World Cup Stars on Tournament’s Eve

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The West Indies have climbed to fourth in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, with India leading the table and England, despite their recent struggles, holding the No.3 spot.

Several players have seen their individual rankings soar in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings table, contributing to their team’s rise in the standings.

Let’s delve into which players have experienced the most significant ranking surges across categories between the two T20 World Cups as they prepare for the 2024 mega event.

Note: Only players who are in the top 50 in the respective categories in 2024 and named in the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup are considered.

West Indies’ Major Ranking Boost Ahead of T20 World Cup

Travis Head, Yashasvi Jaiswal Make Significant Strides in Batting Rankings

India’s dynamic opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal is arguably the biggest talent to emerge in T20Is, if not all of international cricket, between the two T20 World Cups. Since his debut in August 2023, Jaiswal has been a sensation in T20Is.

Jaiswal has scored 502 runs in 17 T20Is, with a strike rate of 161.93, making him the top-ranked Indian batter in the format after Suryakumar Yadav. Although he hadn’t made his debut by the end of the T20 World Cup in 2022, Jaiswal is currently sixth in the batting rankings in men’s T20Is.

A similar success story has unfolded in Australia, where Travis Head’s ranking has skyrocketed. The left-handed opener’s ranking has jumped from 587 in November 2022 to 16th in 2024. After a stunning IPL 2024 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Head was tipped for greater success by his compatriot and Aussie legend, Ricky Ponting.

“My prediction for the leading run scorer will be Travis Head,” Ponting told The ICC Review.

“I just think everything he’s done, whether it be red ball or white ball in the last couple of years, has been of the highest quality. I think he’s playing fearless cricket at the moment.”

England opener Phil Salt has also seen a significant rise in the format, climbing to No.2 in the batter rankings. After playing just two games in the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Salt has scored 407 runs in just nine T20Is, making two hundreds and averaging over 50 while also striking at a rate of 168.18.

West Indies’ Johnson Charles and Australia’s Tim David are other players who have made significant strides in the batting rankings.

Travis Head’s aggressive ton took the game away from India.

Players with the Most Significant Moves in Batting Rankings

Notably, Salt is the only new player in the top five in 2024 when compared to 2022. Suryakumar Yadav (top of the rankings then and now), Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam and Aiden Markram, who currently occupy four of the top five spots, were also in the same bracket in November 2022 in the immediate aftermath of the T20 World Cup.

Two other notable inclusions in the top 50 of the batting rankings in 2024 are Rinku Singh, who is a reserve in India’s T20 World Cup squad, and Netherlands’ Michael Levitt.

Rinku had a stirring start to his T20I career, averaging 89 with a strike-rate of 176.23, since making his debut in August 2023 and is currently 32nd in the batting rankings.

Levitt, placed 38th, has already made an impression on the T20 World Cup, starring with a half-century in Netherlands’ win over Sri Lanka in the warm-up game. At 20 years, Levitt is a sensational talent who has had a great start to his international career. In just his second T20I, Levitt smashed the highest score by a Netherlands player in T20Is (135 off 62 v Namibia). In eight T20I innings, he has 349 runs and will look to make a big impression in the upcoming mega tournament.

A massive from Michael Levitt!

He records the highest score by a batter in Men’s T20Is.#NEDvNAM | : @CricketNep pic.twitter.com/lJqDoffJxp

Two Left-Arm Spinners and a Tale of Redemption in Bowling Rankings

Among the bowlers, the most notable improvers have been West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie and India’s Kuldeep Yadav, both of whom have seen their rankings rise significantly to enter the top 30.

Motie was outstanding for the West Indies in bilaterals against England and South Africa, taking 13 wickets in seven games and conceding runs at an economy rate of 6.88. He saw a massive jump of 84 places in the latest rankings update ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Kuldeep, who had fallen out of favour with the selectors for the last T20 World Cup, has made a roaring comeback, taking 15 wickets in his last 10 games, averaging 14.33 and conceding runs at a rate of just 6.35.

Romario Shepherd, Nathan Ellis and Imad Wasim, who reversed his retirement decision earlier this year and produced some stellar performances, are the others who have seen massive changes to their bowling rankings.

Rohit Sharma pulls Kuldeep Yadav’s leg while bestowing a special honour

Players with the Most Significant Moves in Bowling Rankings

There were also three significant big movements into the top 10 of the bowling rankings from November 2022 to 2024 — Ravi Bishnoi (74th to 4th), Axar Patel (39th to 3rd) and Reece Topley (23rd to 9th).

While Bishnoi missed out on T20 World Cup selection, Axar and Topley will travel to the Caribbean and the USA.

England’s Reece Topley struck for a third time in the sixth over. He bowled the Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan for merely one in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Challenging Journey for All-Rounders in Rankings

The all-rounders’ rankings haven’t seen many dramatic changes in the top 10 over the past two years. Wanindu Hasaranga has moved up from 7th in November 2022 to the top of the all-rounders table in 2024, while Shakib Al Hasan, Sikandar Raza and Mohammad Nabi have remained in the top five.

However, outside the top 10, there have been some significant changes, most notably for West Indies’ Roston Chase, who has seen his rank rise by 233 places. Afghanistan’s young all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai has risen into the top 50 with impressive performances, while Angelo Mathews, who made a stunning comeback into the T20I team earlier this year, has climbed 157 places to 38th.

Batting highlights as Azmatullah Omarzai compiled a quickfire half-century to steer Afghanistan home in the run-chase against Sri Lanka at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023

Players with the Most Significant Moves in All-Rounder Rankings

Imad Wasim, though, had the most significant change in the top 15, rising 110 places since his comeback from retirement earlier this year. The Pakistan all-rounder has 15 wickets in 14 T20Is, bowling at an economy rate of 6.14, since 2023 after missing the squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup. Wasim also made his only half-century in the format last year.