Ranking top 10 jerseys in T20 World Cup history

The history of the arrival of coloured jerseys in international cricket, especially in limited-overs cricket, is quite interesting. It is just because the idea of ‘coloured jerseys’ was not initiated by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as all formats till the 70s and later 80s. Even, the first four editions of the ODI World Cup from 1975 to 1987 were played in the whites.

What worked as a game-changing factor in the journey of limited-overs cricket was the arrival of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket on November 28, 1978. In this match, WSC West Indies XI and WSC Australia XI faced each other in the first-ever match of cricket history, which was played in a day-night format.

Later, the ICC adopted the concept of ‘coloured jerseys’ in the ODIs at the international level. The major implication of this was seen in the ODI World Cup 1992 in Australia when teams played in coloured jerseys for the first time in history. A similar concept of coloured jerseys was also adopted in the T20I format since the beginning of the format and in the T20I World Cups as well.

Here we’ll look at the rankings and ratings of the top-10 jerseys in the T20 World Cup’s history from 2007 to 2024.

Also Read: Top 5 highest successful run chases in T20 World Cup history

Here’s a look at the top 10 jerseys of all-time in  T20 World Cup history:

10. Australia – T20 World Cup 2007 (5/10)

It was the first-ever and inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, 17 years back in 2007. Australia were coming off with an amazing title win in the ODI World Cup 2007. But the Aussies had a ‘kind of’ roller coaster journey before they made it to the Semi-Final of the tournament.

Speaking of Australia’s jersey in the 2007 World T20, they had one of the most unique kits they have ever worn in the T20 World Cup so far. Australia’s jersey in this edition was prepared with a combination of a grey undershirt and a yellow vest. It was also very unique among the teams who participated in the T20 World Cup 2007. However, this jersey was completely different from the one that Aussie players wore in the ODI World Cup 2007 but still, the yellow vest resembled the jersey in which they won their fourth ODI World Cup title in 2007. It can be ranked 10 among the top-10 T20 WC jerseys of all time with a rating of 5/10.

9. Pakistan – T20 World Cup 2007 (6/10)

Pakistan had one of the most amazing jerseys among all the 10 participating teams in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007. The men in green wore a blend of volt/apple Green colours, including a mixture and support of dark green colour. The placing of dark green was placed at the bottom of the upper.

A crescent was also there around the kit, putting a star on the sleeves according to the batting hand of the batters (left-handed or right-handed). This jersey also came as a piece of good luck for the Shoaib Malik-led Pak team, as they made it to the final of the inaugural edition in 2007, where they were undone by arch-rivals, India with a narrow margin of 5 runs. Ranking it on 9th, Pakistan’s World T20 2007 jersey can be rated 6/10.

8. England – T20 World Cup 2009 (6.2/10)

England wore completely a dark blue kit in the second edition of the T20 World Cup 2009, including a red strip around the V-shaped neck on the upper. The font of the team’s name was placed in the front middle of the upper with small capital letters. Besides these, the logo of the tournament was placed on the right side, with ECB’s logo on the left side of the jersey.

Speaking of England’s performance in the T20 World Cup 2009, they failed miserably and were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament, with 2 defeats and only one win. It was the second consecutive World T20 edition for England since 2007 when they failed to make it to the knockouts.  

7. West Indies – T20 World Cup 2012 (6.5/10)

West Indies emerged as a top-performing team in the fourth edition of the T20 World Cup in 2012. The ‘colourful Caribbeans’ came up in the tournament with an amazing and colourful jersey. The basic colour of the kit of Caribbean players was maroon but what made it eye-catching was the blend of sky-blue strips from the shoulder to the waist on both the left and right side of the jersey. Their jersey can be rated 7/10 while rating and ranking the top-10 team jerseys of all time in the history of the T20 World Cup.

Speaking of their performance in the 2012 World T20, West Indies ended up becoming the first-time champions in the T20 World Cup history after they defeated the hosts Sri Lanka by 36 runs in the Final of the tournament.

6. India – T20 World Cup 2014 (7.2/10)

The fifth edition of the T20 World Cup was played in Bangladesh in 2014. One of the popular teams in the tournament, India came up with a colourful jersey in the tournament The men in blue wore their traditional blue colour jersey with a newly-introduced pattern of the Indian flag on both left and right shoulders. This jersey of Team India can be ranked sixth with a rating of 7.2/10.

MS Dhoni-led dominated throughout the tournament to reach the final, losing to Sri Lanka as the latter lifted their first-ever title World T20 Title.

Also Read: Top 5 All-Rounders in T20 World Cup History

5. South Africa – T20 World Cup 2022 (7.5/10)

The Proteas didn’t have an expected run of form in the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2022. The team played under the captaincy of Temba Bavuma and got knocked out from the super-12 stage of the tournament, with 2 wins and 2 defeats, including one match with no result.

However, speaking of their kit in this edition, South Africa wore one of the eye-catching jerseys in the T20 World Cup 2022, including their familiar green jerseys with a little bit of presence of yellow. The blue and green motif at the waist was also there on the left collar of the jersey. This jersey can be ranked at the 5th spot with a rating of 7.5/10.

4. New Zealand – T20 World Cup 2024 (7.8/10)

The Blackcaps has been one of the most consistent teams in the history of the T20 World Cup, making it to the knockout stage of the tournament across multiple editions. New Zealand has one of the eye-attracting jerseys among the 20 participating teams in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.

Speaking of the jersey of the Kiwis for the upcoming edition, they have moved on from their traditional black colour and will be coming up with a new dress, involving a major part of the jersey in blue with various shades of grey. The Blackcaps have their T20 World Cup 2024 jersey inspired by the one they wore 25 years back in the ODI World Cup 1999. This jersey of Kiwis can be ranked number 4 with a rating of 7.8/10.

3. Pakistan T20 World Cup 2009 (8.5/10)

The 2007 World T20 runners-up Pakistan introduced a different-styled and different-coloured jersey for the second edition of the tournament in 2009. This time, the colour of the jersey was dark green with a single yellow stripe around the sides of the jersey. Before wearing it in the prestigious cricket biennial, the men in green first wore this kit in a T20I series against Australia in UAE.

The New Jersey and different-styled kit also brought a stroke of luck for the Younis Khan-led Pakistan team that became the eventual champions of the T20 World Cup 2009 after defeating Sri Lanka in the final of the tournament owing to star all-rounder Shahid Afridi’s remarkable performance. It can be rated 8.5/10 while ranking it on the 3rd spot.

2. Australia – T20 World Cup 2021 (9/10)

It happened for the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup when a team wore two different kinds of jerseys in an edition of the ICC T20 World Cup. Besides their traditional mix of yellow and green jersey, Australia also wore an alternate jersey, with a mix of black, gold and green. The alternate one also resembled the kit of Australia’s women’s team, which they wore in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.

Speaking of the performance of the Aussies in the T20 World Cup 2021, they ended up getting crowned as the champions after easily defeating New Zealand in the summit clash of the tournament. The colour combinations of Australia’s kit in the 2021 World T20 can be rated 9/10 by ranking them at the second spot.

1. India – T20 World Cup 2007 (9.5/10)

The jersey of Team India in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup 2007 is undoubtedly the most iconic jersey of all time in the history of the T20 World Cup. The jersey worn by men in blue gave some vintage vibes to the fans. MS Dhoni & co. wore a pale blue jersey with the pattern of the India flag on the right side of the jersey.

The jersey also is known as the ‘historic’ one as the young Indian team created history by clinching the title in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2007, after defeating the arch-rivals Pakistan by a narrow margin of 5 runs.

Also Read: Top Run-Scorers in T20 World Cup History: Most Runs in T20WC

Note: All the ratings and rankings of the jerseys are based on the author's sole discretion.