ICC Team Rankings: Australia climb to No.1 in Tests in annual update; India remain No. 1 in ODIs and T20Is

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The reigning ICC World Test Champions, Australia, have reclaimed the No.1 spot in the latest ICC Men's Test Team Rankings following the annual update.

Pat Cummins-led Australian side emerged victorious against India in the WTC 2021-23 final at The Oval last year. This update removes results from the 2020-21 season and incorporates series completed since May 2021.

Currently, Australians lead the table with 124 rating points. However, India, the former top-ranked team, closely follow them with just four points behind and a 15-point lead over third-placed England. South Africa secured the fourth spot with 103 points, joining the teams above the 100-point mark.

Why Team India slipped to second in the latest Test Rankings?

India's slip in rankings is primarily due to their 2-1 series win in Australia in 2020-21, which has been removed from the rankings. The rankings from third to ninth remain unchanged.

Afghanistan and Ireland are not ranked yet, having played insufficient Tests, while Zimbabwe is excluded for having played only three Tests over the past three years. Teams need to play a minimum of eight Tests over a three-year period to be included in the rankings.

Team India Continues Dominance In ODI Rankings

Despite the changes in Test rankings, India maintains its position atop the ODI and T20I rankings after the annual updates, which consider matches completed before May 2023 at 50 per cent weightage and subsequent matches at 100 per cent.

In the ODI rankings, India - who are being led by Rohit Sharma - lead with 122 points, despite losing the ICC Cricket World Cup final to Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19 last year. South Africa, meanwhile, narrowed the gap with Australia from eight to four points, while Sri Lanka trail England by just two points.

India Ranked No.1 In T20Is

In the T20I rankings, Australia have advanced to second place ahead of England but the Men In Yellow trail table toppers, India, by seven points. In the run-up to the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Team India should take a lot of confidence with their dominance in the ICC Rankings. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, the Men in Blue will be hoping to end the 11-year-old drought of winning an ICC trophy.

South Africa are closely behind England after moving up two spots from sixth position. New Zealand and the West Indies follow closely behind, with only three points separating third-placed England from sixth-placed West Indies.

Pakistan Team ICC Rankings

Pakistan - who recently squared off the home series against New Zealand 2-all - have dropped two places to seventh in the latest T20I rankings. The Men In Green are ranked fourth with 106 rating points in the ODIs while in the Tests they are ranked sixth with 89 points.

Scotland have overtaken Zimbabwe to claim the 12th position in the annual rankings. Further down the rankings, Spain, the Isle of Man, and Switzerland achieved significant rating gains, with 86 countries playing at least eight T20Is in the past three years and earning a ranking. Six countries are not currently ranked, awaiting further matches to qualify.