DUBAI: Australia, who defeated India in the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, have reclaimed No. 1 position in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings following the annual update that drops results from the 2020-21 season and reflects all series completed since May 2021.
Australia now lead the table with 124 rating points, but India, who ceded top position to them, are just four points behind and 15 points clear of third-placed England. South Africa are the fourth team above the 100-point mark with 103 points.
India slipped mainly because their 2-1 series win in Australia in 2020-21 has dropped from the rankings.
The order of teams ranked from third to ninth remains the same. Only nine teams are now ranked as Afghanistan and Ireland have yet to play sufficient Tests while Zimbabwe too are out as they have played only three Tests over the past three years.
Teams need to play a minimum of eight Tests over a three-year period to get on the rankings table.
India, however, remain atop the ODI and T20I rankings after the annual updates, that weight matches completed prior to May 2023 at 50 per cent and subsequent matches at 100 per cent.
India may have lost the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final to Australia but have increased their lead over them from three to six points, leading the table with 122 points. There are no changes in the top 10 but Ireland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 11th position.
Third-placed South Africa have closed the gap with Australia from eight to four points while Sri Lanka are just two points behind fifth-placed England.
