New Delhi: Should MS Dhoni and his boys pull off a 3-0 sweep in the T20I series against Australia, they will vault to number one on the ICC Twenty20 International rankings.
A series sweep will propel India to 120 points, while Australia will plummet to number eight with 110 points from the current 118.
At the moment, Team India has 110 points.
A 2-1 series win will see India slip to seventh and the Aussies to sixth.
India are currently ranked eighth while Australia are at second spot behind the West Indies (118). Sri Lanka are on third with 118 points.
On the other hand, Australia just need a series win to claim the top spot. In case of a 2-1 win, Australia will move to 120 points, while a 3-0 win will put Australia on 124 points and India on 103 points.
India will remain at eighth in any losing scenario as number ninth Afghanistan have 80 points in the latest rankings issued on Saturday.
With only eight points separating number one ranked West Indies from eighth-ranked India, the ICC World Twenty20 in March-April in India is shaping up to be an open event with any of the top-ranked sides capable of lifting the trophy.
In the ICC T20I Player Rankings for batsmen, Virat Kohli remained the only Indian in the top-10 at the second place on 845 points, behind Aaron Finch (854) of Australia.
Ravichandran Ashwin also retained his second spot among the bowlers on 681 points, behind Samuel Badree (751 points) of the West Indies.
India vs Australia T20I series schedule:
Jan 26: India vs Australia, 1st T20I, Adelaide, 1318 IST
Jan 29: India vs Australia, 2nd T20I, Melbourne, 1408 IST
Jan 31: India vs Australia, 3rd T20I, Sydney, 1408 IST
(With PTI inputs)
