The ‘Never topped the ICC Rankings’ all-time T20I XI

Do you ever wonder what it must be like to be the second-fastest man on the planet? All but one human currently alive, you can run faster than, outpace reliably. But there’s that one person you just can’t get past.

In another era, you might have been the guy, the main draw. As it is, you’re the undercard. Now imagine that again, but it’s hitting or bowling a ball rather than running really fast, and you get this XI.

We’ve picked the six best batters and top five bowlers in the ICC All-Time T20I Rankings, making sure to have at least three quicks and at least two spinners. We’ve also picked an all-rounder, going for the highest-ranked batter who never reached the top spot in the batting or all-rounder rankings. Here’s what we came up with.

The ‘Never topped the ICC Rankings’ all-time T20I XI – the selections

David Warner – Australia

ICC All-Time T20I Batting Ranking: 18th (826 points, May 11th, 2010)

David Warner is rated as one of the greatest T20 batters there has ever been, with a T20I debut coming before his first-class debut and IPL records by the bucketload to his name. But one thing he hasn’t yet managed is to crack the top spot in the IPL T20I Batting Rankings. His best rating of 826 points in 2010 is good enough for 16th in the all-time rankings, but was only enough for second at the time, with Kevin Pietersen in the top spot.

Fakhar Zaman – Pakistan

ICC All-Time T20I Batting Ranking: 11th (842 points, July 8th, 2018)

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy 2017 hero also had a pretty handy start to his T20I career, averaging a tick over 30 with a strike-rate in excess of 140 at the time of his peak rating in 2018. However, that was only enough for second spot, with Aaron Finch at the top spot.

Faf du Plessis – South Africa

ICC All-Time T20I Batting Ranking: 10th (843 points, July 5th, 2015)

Former South Africa captain, IPL stalwart, and one of a select few skippers to have hit centuries in all three formats, Faf du Plessis had some career. But he never got higher than third in the T20I rankings, despite a peak rating that sees him sit tenth in the all-time charts.

KL Rahul – India

ICC All-Time T20I Batting Ranking: 8th (854 points, July 3rd, 2018)

We’re stretching the batting order a bit here, with KL Rahul generally an opener. But he does have a century at No.4, so it’s not totally out of nowhere to have him at second drop. The India star is the highest rated batter in this team, with his peak rating the eighth best of all time. But, just like Fakhar, he found himself stuck behind Finch.

Yuvraj Singh – India

ICC All-Time T20I Batting Ranking: 20th (793 points, May 2nd, 2010)

Shane Watson almost made the cut as the all-rounder, 13th in the all-time batting charts but never higher than second at any one time. But he did top the all-rounder rankings, which means we’ve had to plump for Yuvraj, 20th of all-time, never higher than third, and never higher than third as an all-rounder either. He’s a better fit as the finisher for this team in any case.

Mohammad Rizwan – Pakistan

ICC All-Time T20I Batting Ranking: 18th (798 points, December 16th, 2021)

Now we’re really stretching things, with Mohammad Rizwan having established himself as one of the most consistent openers on the circuit, and only down at No.6 by dint of being a wicketkeeper, an admittedly outmoded way of thinking. Even as he’s racked up record numbers over the past 14 months, he hasn’t quite managed to crack top spot, with one of Babar Azam or Dawid Malan always ahead of him.

Shadab Khan – Pakistan

ICC All-Time T20I Bowling Ranking: 13th (769 points, June 13th, 2018)

Into the bowlers now, and the first is Pakistan leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan, joint 13th in the all-time bowling rankings but never higher than second overall. Surprisingly, for a player who has started to establish himself as a proper batting force in the shortest format, Shadab has a best ranking of 24th in the world as an all-rounder, so he comfortably slots into this team.

R Ashwin – India

ICC All-Time T20I Bowling Ranking: 15th (765 points, February 14th, 2016)

Our other frontline spinner is R Ashwin, perhaps India’s greatest ever spinner and the scourge of encroaching non-strikers everywhere. Like the unlucky member of a love triangle, he found himself in second place on Valentine’s Day in 2016, with Sunil Narine in his way at the top of the tree at the time of his peak rating.

Mitchell Starc – Australia

ICC All-Time T20I Bowling Ranking: 31st (702 points, October 5th, 2014)

The first of our all-Australian extreme-pace attack is Mitchell Starc, with a yorker to be feared and a status as one of the best white-ball bowlers of all time secure, having been the leading wicket-taker at two consecutive 50-over World Cups. Oddly, he only just sneaks into this XI, with a slew of spinners who failed to top the rankings ahead of him. Australia’s reluctance to endanger Starc in ‘meaningless’ bilaterals undoubtedly plays a part.

Mitchell Johnson – Australia

ICC All-Time T20I Bowling Ranking: 27th (713 points, May 11th, 2010)

Another slingy, scary left-armer, Mitchell Johnson never got higher than fourth in the T20I bowling rankings, but still sits 27th in the all-time rating charts.

Shaun Tait – Australia

ICC All-Time T20I Bowling Ranking: 13th (769 points, July 7th, 2010)

Finally, the man who might have been the fastest, and most fragile, of them all. Shaun Tait’s body held together just long enough to reach a peak rating of 769 points in 2010, which still stands as the joint 13th highest anyone has ever achieved. But from that point on, ‘The Wild Thing’ would only play four more T20Is spread across five years. Oh what could have been.

The ‘Never topped the ICC Rankings’ all-time T20I XI – the line-up

David Warner
Fakhar Zaman
Faf du Plessis
KL Rahul
Yuvraj Singh
Mohammad Rizwan (wk)
Shadab Khan
R Ashwin
Mitchell Starc
Mitchell Johnson
Shaun Tait