On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) made a dramatic U-turn by removing Rohit Sharma and company from the top spot, only hours after Team India was named the new No. 1 side in the Test team rankings. The international cricket governing body has made significant changes to the top-ranked Test side, the Baggy Greens, days before India and Australia square off in the second game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
India became the No. 1 team across all formats on Wednesday by unseating Australia in the ICC Test rankings following India’s convincing victory over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener. Before the Asian heavyweights were given the top spot in the Test rankings earlier in the day by the ICC’s official website, Rohit Sharma’s Team India was already the best team in ODIs and T20Is.
India 🇮🇳 becomes No. 1 ranked side across all formats! (T20Is, ODIs and now Tests)
Only the second team to achieve the incredible feat after South Africa. #ICCRankings #TeamIndia #CricketTwitter #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/mpK1gMCqMV
— Siddharth Thakur (@fvosid) February 15, 2023
India took first place with 115 rating points, followed by Australia with 111 points, in what is expected to be a major technical error. The Asian powerhouse was selected in second place despite India’s ranking improvement on a day when Rohit and company did not play an international match. Australia has taken the top spot in the current standings with 126 ranking points, followed by India with 115 ranking points. The ICC’s Test ranking error has generated a significant amount of social media discussion among game enthusiasts.
ICC glitch? India no longer the No.1 ranked men’s team in all formats!#ICCRankings #TeamIndia #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/UcrpXcwrFW
— Siddharth Thakur (@fvosid) February 15, 2023
After the Men in Blue dominated New Zealand in a three-match series last month, India had risen to become the No. 1 team in ODIs. India had earlier defeated the West Indies 3-0 at home to take the top spot in the T20I rankings. The newly crowned top-ranked team, Australia, is 11 points ahead of India in the Test team rankings. The top two sides are competing against one another in a four-match bilateral series in India for Test supremacy. The Indian team, led by Ravindra Jadeja, destroyed Australia by innings and 132 runs in the red-ball series opener at Nagpur, riding Rohit’s first Test century as captain. At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday, Pat Cummins’ Australia will take on India.