Published: Jan 10, 2016, 04:23 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 10, 2016, 04:38 PM (IST)
West Indies were on top of the ICC Twenty20 International (T20I) rankings on Sunday, dislodging Sri Lanka from the spot after the latter suffered a 0-2 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand in a recently-concluded bilateral series. The news would come as a source of great relief for the West Indians, who have been having a torrid time in international cricket in recent times, mainly due to the ongoing tiff between the players and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), as well as the exodus of leading cricketers to some of the major Twenty20 leagues around the world. Despite their sub-par performances in the other formats, the West Indians have been consistent in the T20I rankings. They won their first major cricketing event in a long time when they lifted the ICC World T20 in 2012, reaching the semi-finals of the 2014 edition.
Sri Lanka, who won the ICC World T20 2014 by beating India in the final, had maintained themselves at the top of the charts in the 20-over format. They ultimately had to surrender the same after their nine-wicket mauling at the hands of New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland. It resulted in them getting whitewashed 0-2 in the recently-concluded bilateral series in their disastrous tour, in which they endured similar drubbings in Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI).
Australia and Sri Lanka currently occupy the second and third spots respectively, with England, South Africa and New Zealand occupying the next three slots. Pakistan and India are seventh and eighth in the table, with India hosting the upcoming edition of the ICC World T20 in the months of March and April.
