Dubai, May 5 (IANS) Team India further cemented their dominance in the shortest format, retaining the top position in the latest ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings following the annual update released on Tuesday.

Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India sit comfortably at the summit with 275 rating points. While their lead has narrowed slightly, they remain well ahead of second-placed England (262), with Australia team closely trailing in third at 258 points.

The latest update, which assigns 100 per cent weightage to matches played since May 2025 and 50 per cent to those from the previous two years, reflects India’s sustained excellence in T20I cricket. The Asian powerhouse has enjoyed a golden run in the format, highlighted by back-to-back ICC Men’s T20 World Cup triumphs in 2024 and 2026, while also remaining unbeaten in bilateral T20I series during this period.

There has been no change in the top seven rankings, underlining the consistency among the leading sides. New Zealand (247) continue to hold fourth place, followed by South Africa (244) in fifth. Pakistan (240) and the West Indies (233) remain sixth and seventh, respectively.

Further down the table, Bangladesh have edged up to eighth after gaining a rating point, benefitting from Sri Lanka dropping six points to slip to ninth. Afghanistan are close behind in 10th, just a point adrift of Sri Lanka, highlighting the tightening competition in the mid-table.

Among the most significant movers, the United States have surged two places to 13th after gaining six rating points, overtaking the Netherlands and Scotland, who now occupy 14th and 15th respectively. Namibia remain unchanged at 16th, while Nepal and Oman have each climbed a spot, moving to 17th and 19th.

In the lower half, Italy team emerged as one of the biggest gainers, jumping three places to 23rd after earning 11 additional rating points. Spain and Cyprus also registered notable progress, while Mozambique endured one of the steepest declines, dropping 15 positions.

–IANS

vi/