ICC Test Rankings: India reclaim top spot, dethrone Australia
India have reclaimed the top spot the in the ICC Test Rankings after displacing Australia in the annual rankings update. Rohit Sharma's men now have 121 points and are ahead of the Aussies, who trail them with only 116 points. Notably, the two teams will lock horns in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final next month. Here are further details.
Australia's 15-month stay at the summit ends
The Aussies had a 15-month stay at the summit of the Test rankings, and they earned it when Pat Cummins was appointed as captain. Although the annual rankings consider all series completed since May 2020 in full, the results prior to that will be weighted at 50%. Therefore, Australia's series wins over Pakistan and NZ were nullified and their Ashes win was halved.
Here's how India rose
The annual rankings update removed India's defeat against NZ in 2019-20, and that gave them a boost and helped them move from 119 to 121 points. This will give Rohit's men some morale boost, heading into the WTC final, starting June 7 at the Oval in London. The Australians will also look to settle the scores in the upcoming clash.
The stage is set!
A look at India's 15-member squad for the WTC final
Indian squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, K L Rahul, KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat.
Here's the Australian 17-member team for the WTC final
Australian squad: Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wicket-keeper), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
England's resurgence under Brendon McCullum
England were tottering at sixth position in the Test rankings with 88 points last year at the annual rankings update, their lowest ranking point since 1995. However, under the combined leadership of Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, they have risen up to the third spot with 114 points, only two points off Australia. Winning the upcoming Ashes may take them over the Aussies.
