ICC Expanded T20 Rankings: Pakistan No 1; India slip to No 5

India have dropped three places to fifth while Pakistan have gained the top with 286 points

The ICC Friday unveiled an expanded T20I team rankings table with 80 teams who will now be able to gauge their progress in a format, recognised by the world body as the vehicle for the growth of the game. India have dropped three places to fifth while Pakistan have gained the top with 286 points. The next four teams are within two points of each other -- South Africa (262), England (261), Australia (261) and India (260). South Africa and India have swapped positions two and five in the expanded table, whose launch coincides with the annual rankings update in which series results from 2015-16 are removed and outcomes from 2016-17 and 2017-18 are weighted at 50 per cent. In other significant changes, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have moved up one place each to seventh and eighth positions, respectively, with the West Indies going down to ninth position. Meanwhile, Nepal have moved from 14th to 11th position while Namibia have grabbed the 20th position. Teams like Austria, Botswana, Luxembourg and Mozambique are among the sides figuring in the first men's T20I ranking table that features all members meeting the criteria of having played six matches against other ICC members since May 2016. As with the ICC Women's T20I team rankings, which were launched in October 2018, teams will need to play six matches against other teams in the previous three to four years to remain in the rankings table. The qualification process for the ICC men's T20 World Cup, which is underway, includes 58 T20I matches across five regional finals is likely to mean significant movements on the rankings over the coming months.