Mohammad Amir of Pakistan shakes hands with Virat Kohli of India in London, England.
India’s arch-rivals Pakistan, for once, will be rooting for the Virat Kohli-led team as it faces New Zealand in a three-T20I series, starting on Wednesday.
Even if India win the three-match series against New Zealand 2-1, Pakistan will become the world No 1 in T20Is, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in a release.
The ICC said: “India will do Pakistan a huge favour if they defeat New Zealand in an upcoming three-match T20 International series as such a result will see their arch rivals top the rankings.”
Currently, New Zealand are the No. 1 T20 side with 125 points, followed by Pakistan at 124. India are currently No. 5 with 116 points.
Rankings equation
New Zealand can maintain their No. 1 status even with a 2-1 win. If New Zealand win 2-1, they will have 126 points. However, a 3-0 clean sweep will boost New Zealand as they will have 132 points.
Pakistan will become the new No. 1 side if India get the better of the Kiwis by any margin.
“India are placed fifth at 116 points and can at best go to second position with a 3-0 win over New Zealand which will take them to 122 points. Pakistan will reach the top rank with their tally of 124 points in such a scenario with New Zealand slipping to 114 points and fifth position. Even a 2-1 series win for India will be enough for Pakistan to move to the top with New Zealand slipping to 121 points.”
Bumrah numero uno
India will enter the series with their ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah regaining the top spot in ICC T20I Rankings. On Sunday, the right-arm seamer guided India to a series win over the Kiwis with a wily spell of 3 for 47 in the ODI series decider at Kanpur.
The ICC confirmed on Tuesday that Bumrah has regained the top spot in T20I Rankings. “India pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will head into the series on Wednesday as the No 1 bowler in ICC T20I Player Rankings which were updated after the Pakistan-Sri Lanka and South Africa-Bangladesh series,” the release added.
Bumrah rose in ICC Rankings for bowlers in T20Is after Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim slipped by one place.
The first T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Wednesday. The second game will be at Rajkot on November 4, whereas the final game will be at the new cricket stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on November 7.