India have seemingly lost their ‘No.1 ranking in all formats’ status on the same day they achieved it, with an ICC update placing Australia on top of the Test rankings table hours after they had slipped to second place.
Already the No.1 ranked men’s ODI and T20I side in the world, India seemed to have achieved a rare treble, with the ICC website listing them as the No.1 Test side in the world following their innings win over Australia at Nagpur. South Africa are the only other side to have been ranked top in the world in all formats in men’s cricket simultaneously, a feat they managed in August 2012.
Several outlets reported on India’s ascension, including Wisden.com and ESPNcricinfo.However, hours later, the ICC’s website again listed Australia as the No.1 Test side in the world. In the initial update, Australia were shown as losing 15 points, a significantly more sizeable deficit than is usual.
There have been similar malfunctions on the ICC site in the past – notably, New Zealand were hailed as having reached the No.1 Test ranking for the first time in late 2020, only for it to later be revealed that they were in fact a fraction off top spot.
According to the ICC rankings predictor, India need to beat Australia by a two-game margin in their four-match series to claim top spot outright. While England, second to India in the ICC T20I and ODI rankings, will play Bangladesh in both T20Is and ODIs before the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, even a three-nil win will not be enough for them to claim top spot in either format, meaning the No.1 ranking in all formats remains within India’s grasp.
