Lahore: Zimbabwe will have one eye on the Reliance ICC T20I Rankings when it goes head to head with former ICC World Twenty20 champion Pakistan in Lahore on Friday and Sunday.
Zimbabwe is currently sitting in 12th position, 62 points adrift of fifth-ranked Pakistan, but can move to as high as ninth if it wins both the matches. Even one win in the series will be enough to push the African side ahead of the Netherlands in 11th spot.
In contrast, Pakistan has to win both the matches to retain its fifth position. The gap of 62 points means Pakistan is expected to win the series convincingly. As such, because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, failure to win the series 2-0 will mean that Pakistan will drop points.
In the case of a drawn series, Pakistan will drop two places to seventh spot on 109 points while it will plummet to 104 points if Zimbabwe wins both the matches. Pakistan will earn one point if it sweeps the series.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for T20I Batsmen, Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Mazakadza is in 13th position but a couple of strong performances could potentially put him back inside the top 10.
Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad is in 15th position and trails Mazakadza by 22 points but will be aiming to improve his ranking along with team-mates Umar Akmal and Mohammd Hafeez, who are sitting in 20th and 22ndpositions, respectively.
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for T20I Bowlers, Prosper Utseya and Hafeez feature inside the top 20, in 13th and 15th positions, respectively.
Pakistan, in Hafeez (second) and Shahid Afridi (third), boasts two players inside the top three in the all-rounders’ category. Elton Chigumbura, in 25th position, is Zimbabwe’s highest-ranked all-rounder.
Series schedule:
22 May – 1st T20I, Lahore
24 May – 2nd T20, Lahore
RELIANCE ICC T20I RANKINGS (as on 20 May, before the start of Pakistan-Zimbabwe series)
Rank Team Ratings
1 Sri Lanka 135
2 India 124
3 Australia 122
4 West Indies 117
5 Pakistan 113
6 New Zealand 110
7 South Africa 110
8 England 100
9 Bangladesh 77
10 Afghanistan 62
11 Netherlands 60
12 Zimbabwe 51
13 Scotland 44
The following sides have T20I status but because they have not completed eight rated T20Is during the rating period, they have not been ranked.
Team Qualifying matches Rating
Ireland
Hong Kong 4 63
Nepal
UAE 3 0
Reliance ICC T20I Player Rankings (as on 20 May, before the start of Pakistan-Zimbabwe series)
Batsmen (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 Virat Kohli Ind 897! 46.28 897 v Eng at Edgbaston 2014
2 Aaron Finch Aus 870 39.78 892 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
3 Alex Hales Eng 866! 37.92 866 v Ind at Edgbaston 2014
4 Faf du Plessis SA 795 39.44 811 v WI at Johannesburg 2015
5 B. McCullum NZ 751 35.67 849 v Ban at Pallekele 2012
6 Chris Gayle WI 732 35.15 831 v Aus at Colombo (RPS) 2012
7 Kusal Perera SL 707* 28.94 751 v SA at Chittagong 2014
8 Suresh Raina Ind 677 32.65 776 v Eng at Kolkata 2011
9 David Warner Aus 662 29.46 826 v WI at St Lucia 2010
10 Yuvraj Singh Ind 657 31.22 793 v SA at St Lucia 2010
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
13 H. Masakadza Zim 650 27.76 685 v Ban at Bulawayo 2013
15 Ahmed Shehzad Pak 628 26.88 709 v Ban at Mirpur 2014
20 Umar Akmal Pak 605 27.36 709 v Zim at Harare 2011
22 M. Hafeez Pak 581 23.96 649 v SL at Dubai 2013
35 Shahid Afridi Pak 492 18.91 537 v SA at Abu Dhabi 2010
47 E. Chigumbura Zim 448*! 22.09 448 v UAE at Sylhet 2014
63 Shoaib Malik Pak 315 22.83 577 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009
86 Sean Williams Zim 217* 17.00 246 v Net at Sylhet 2014
88 Vusi Sibanda Zim 204*! 15.33 204 v UAE at Sylhet 2014
94 Sarfraz Ahmed Pak 194* 41.00 235 v NZ at Dubai 2014
Bowlers (top 10)
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
1 Samuel Badree WI 782 14.96 855 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
2 Sunil Narine WI 760 17.52 817 v Pak at St. Vincent 2013
3 S. Senanayake SL 712*! 16.66 712 v Eng at The Oval 2014
4 R. Ashwin Ind 697 29.28 717 v SA at Mirpur 2014
5 Saeed Ajmal Pak 665 17.83 788 v NZ at Pallekele 2012
6 Imran Tahir SA 662* 14.68 675 v WI at Johannesburg 2015
7= Lasith Malinga SL 661 21.10 680 v Eng at Bristol 2011
Shakib Al Hasan Ban 661 19.29 672 v Pak at Mirpur 2014
9 Mitchell Starc Aus 658 19.04 699 v Pak at Dubai 2014
10 Shahid Afridi Pak 656 22.75 814 v SL at Colombo (RPS) 2009
Selected rankings
Rank Player Team Points Avge Highest Ranking
13 Prosper Utseya Zim 647 29.04 667 v Pak at Harare 2013
15 M. Hafeez Pak 616 24.34 689 v Zim at Harare 2013
95 E. Chigumbura Zim 285* 25.68 343 v NZ at Hamilton 2012
99 Sean Williams Zim 258*! 28.20 258 v UAE at Sylhet 2014
All-rounders (top three)
Rank Player Team Points Highest Ranking
1 Shakib Al Hasan Ban 408! 408 v Pak at Mirpur 2015
2 M. Hafeez Pak 358 441 v SL at Dubai 2013
3 Shahid Afridi Pak 323 413 v NZ at Dubai 2009