Thailand climb in latest ICC Women’s T20I rankings update

Australia continue to dominate the ICC Women’s T20I rankings following the annual update released by the ICC on Friday, with the reigning world champions strengthening their hold on the No.1 spot. The latest rankings also saw emerging sides like Thailand make significant progress, while a few teams dropped out due to inactivity.

With 299 rating points, Australia have not only retained their top position but extended their lead over second-placed England from 18 to 20 points. New Zealand, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champions, also benefitted from the update, gaining two points to reach a total of 253. They now sit just seven points behind third-ranked India (260), setting up a close contest among the top three.

While there were no changes in the order of the top eight teams, the rankings were recalibrated based on matches played from May 2022 to April 2024, which carry 50% weightage, and matches after that, which count fully. South Africa (243), West Indies (240), Sri Lanka (228), and Pakistan (220) complete the top eight.

Ireland moved up one spot to ninth, overtaking Bangladesh, while Thailand jumped two places to claim 11th position—narrowly missing out on the top 10. Other notable movers included Sierra Leone and Kuwait, each climbing three spots after earning seven additional rating points.

However, four teams—Mexico, Czechia, Oman, and Ghana—have been removed from the rankings due to not meeting the minimum requirement of eight T20Is since May 2022.

In addition to the T20I update, the ICC also confirmed the 16 teams granted Women’s ODI status for the 2025-29 cycle, starting May 12. The UAE have replaced the USA in this list, joining fellow Associate Members Thailand, Scotland, Papua New Guinea, and the Netherlands.

Thailand and Scotland secured their ODI status via qualification for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025, while PNG and the Netherlands retained theirs through their T20I rankings. The UAE earned promotion as the next highest-ranked Associate side during the T20I annual update window. All ODI-status teams must play at least eight matches in the cycle to be officially ranked.