Australia have dethroned Rohit Sharma-led India and reclaimed their no.1 spot in ICC Men's Test Team Rankings. The major shift in the rankings came after ICC's annual rankings update which saw Australia climbing to No. 1 and India dropping to second. This shift comes after results from the 2020-21 season dropped out, impacting India's ranking. Their hard-fought 2-1 series win in Australia during that period no longer contributes to their current points. Australia now sit atop the table with 124 points, leaving India just four points behind in second place. England remains a distant third with 109 points. South Africa rounds out the top four with 103 points.
The rankings below third place stay unchanged, with Afghanistan and Ireland still ineligible due to insufficient Test matches played. Zimbabwe also falls off the list due to only playing three Tests in the past three years. A minimum of eight Tests over three years is required for inclusion in the rankings.
India continue to reign supreme in ODIs and T20Is
While India loses its grip on the Test crown, they continue to reign supreme in both the ODI and T20I rankings. The annual updates for these formats weight recent matches more heavily, with contests played after May 2023 contributing double the points compared to those played earlier.
Although India lost the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final to Australia, they have extended their lead over them from three to six points, now leading the table with 122 points. The top 10 remains unchanged, but Ireland has moved up to the 11th position, surpassing Zimbabwe.
South Africa, in third place, has halved their deficit with second-placed Australia from eight to four points, while Sri Lanka is just two points behind fifth-placed England.
Australia improve in T20I rankings too
In the T20I rankings, Australia have surpassed England to claim second place, but they are still seven points behind India, who top the rankings with 264 points. South Africa, having climbed two spots, is now just two points behind England, positioned at fourth. Both New Zealand and South Africa have 250 points, but New Zealand trails slightly in fractions. Meanwhile, the West Indies are close behind with 249 points, putting just three points between the third-placed England and sixth-placed West Indies.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have fallen two spots to seventh, while Scotland has climbed past Zimbabwe to reach the 12th position. Beyond the top 20, the most significant improvements in ratings have been made by Spain (rising from 33rd to 30th), Isle of Man (from 44th to 41st), and Switzerland (from 50th to 45th). Overall, 86 countries have participated in at least eight T20Is over the past three years, qualifying them for a ranking. Six nations are currently unranked: Greece, Mexico, Myanmar, and Turkey need just one more T20I to qualify for ranking as they have each played seven matches, whereas Belize and the Cook Islands require two more games to be ranked, having played six T20Is each.
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