India Rises to 3rd in ICC Test Rankings, Overtakes England with 104 Points
Every player in the Indian Test team is currently busy with the IPL. India has not played any Test series for the past six months. India played its last series in November of last year against South Africa. India was defeated \bm{0-2} in that series. Not just India, but no country has played a Test match since last January. The Ashes series was the last one. Despite not playing any Tests for the last six months, India’s position in the ICC rankings has improved. In the latest rankings published by the ICC, India has secured third place. Gambhir’s team has moved up one step with \bm{104} rating points. England has slipped from third to fourth. The first two spots are held by Australia and South Africa, respectively.
There is a different calculation behind the mystery of these rankings. The annual Test rankings are calculated based on performance over three years. Results from the last year are weighted at \bm{100\%}, and the previous two years are weighted at \bm{50\%}. Now, the annual calculation does not count results prior to April 30, 2023. England’s results from May 2022 to April 30, 2023, were remarkable. England’s ranking dropped because that “golden year” was excluded. As a result, India benefited.
However, there is no connection between the Test rankings and the World Test Championship. India is currently in sixth place in the World Test Championship table. After playing a total of 9 matches, their point percentage is 48.15.
