India losing numero uno Test spot a surprise

India’s demotion in the ICC Test rankings would have come as a surprise to most cricket fans. In the latest rankings released on Friday, Australia have climbed to the top, with India actually pushed down to No.3, New Zealand sandwiched between these two teams.

Interestingly, India still lead the Test Championships points table with Australia No.2. This may seem a conundrum. But the ICC rankings and the Test Championships follow different points systems and must be seen differently, even when the two converge.

Coming back to the ICC rankings, only two points separate the top three teams. Australia have 116, New Zealand 115, India 114. Even this slim difference between the teams reflects a slump where India is concerned, a remarkable rise by Australia (No.5 in 2018), and rock steady performance by the Kiwis.

With no cricket action taking place anywhere because of the Covid-19 related lockdown, few would have anticipated this upheaval. Remember, despite losing 0-2 to New Zealand, India had remained No.1 and since then there had been no Test cricket. So what happened?

While cricket ground to a halt with India’s twomatch Test series in New Zealand around midMarch, the ICC had begun a ‘system update’ on parameters that determine rankings in all three formats.

So, even as the cricket world brooded over the consequences of Covid-19,

India were toppled from the top spot in Tests.

How this works out is as follows. Matches between May 2016 to April 2017, in which India won 12 Tests and lost only 1, don’t count in the new cycle for calculating rankings. This considerably reduced the heft that made Virat Kohli’s team top of the pops uninterrupted for 42 months from October 2016, despite losing to South Africa and England (both away series, in 2018).

In the second phase of the system update, for Tests between May 2017 and April 2019 — in which India’s win-loss record was 11-7 — the weightage of points was reduced by 50 per cent. In this period, Australia’s record was 9-7.

But even till this time, on the eve of the 50 over World Cup, India were still clearly in the lead.

The third phase of the update is the deciding one in this race. It began with Tests played after the World Cup and saw Australia sneak past India. In this period, both teams played the same number of matches (9) with similar win-loss ratio (7-2). But Australia gained more points because they didn’t lose a series.

India on the other hand, suffered by losing both Tests to New Zealand. Even if the series was drawn, Kohli’s team would still be ruling the rankings. Considering how well India had been performing in Test cricket till then — seven consecutive matches post the World Cup, and before that, a first-ever series win in Australia — this was a setback.

It might be recalled that in New Zealand the Indian team management prioritized the T20 series over everything else because of the T20 World Championship scheduled for this October (if Covid19 permits!).

After winning the T20 series, did India take the ‘eye off the ball’ in the Tests is something that would be irking Kohli, Shastri & Co now?

But while the past is unchangeable, the future can be moulded with effort and desire. As things stand, with the lockdown continuing and any cricket before September/October unlikely, India’s next Test series should be against Australia (in Australia) in November and December this year.

India won 2-1 in 2018. It won’t be easy this time, what with Steve Smith and David Warner back in the side joined by another high quality batsman in Marnus Labuschagne. The Aussies also boast a sizzling bowling attack.

But what better way for Kohli and Co. to prove they are the world’s best Test side!

If Kohli and Shastri are not already speed dialing key players to stoke their desire, start work on a gameplan for this contest, they should get to doing this pronto!