India retains top spot in white-ball formats

DUBAI: India has retained its top position in ODIs and T20Is but slipped to the second position in the men’s Test Team Rankings in the latest ICC annual ranking update issued on Friday.

India conceded the top spot in the five-day format to Australia, the reigning World Test champion, following the annual update that drops results from the 202021 season and reflects all series completed since May 2021.

India (120) is just four points behind Australia (124) and 15 points clear of third-placed England. South Africa is the fourth team above the 100-point mark with 103 points.

India slipped mainly because its 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 is out as it has 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, remains 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 ODI World Cup final to Australia but has increased its lead over it from three to six points, leading the table with 122 points. There are no changes in the top 10 but Ireland has overtaken Zimbabwe to 11th position.

Third-placed South Africa has closed the gap with Australia from eight to four points, while Sri Lanka is just two points behind fifthplaced England. The T20I rankings see Australia move ahead of England to second place but it is seven points adrift of India, which leads with 264 rating points.