ICC Test Rankings: India face a setback in the rankings after the defeat in BGT, Australia & South Africa make advancements

The ICC has released it's latest updated Test Team Rankings and Team India has suffered a setback following their defeat in the BGT series. South Africa have made an advancement in the rankings

The Indian Cricket Team suffered a humiliating 1-3 series defeat in the five-match 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy versus the Aussies and this defeat has made them suffer a huge loss. Not only did this series defeat cost the Rohit Sharma-led team the chance to qualify for the WTC Final, it also led them dropping down to the third position in the recently updated ICC Test-Team Rankings. The Men in Blue had qualified for two successive WTC Finals in 2021 & 2023 but Rohit Sharma & CO failed to qualify this time around, suffering embarrassing defeats versus New Zealand (NZ) & Australia (AUS) in the bilateral Test-Series. 

Australia lead the ICC Test-Team Rankings 

Talking about the Test Team Rankings, the Mighty Australians are sitting at the pole position with 126 rating points next to their name. On the other hand, after defeating the Shan Masood-led Pakistan in the two-match Test-Series, the South Africans have secured the second spot of the rankings with 112 rating points to their name. 

The Indian Team are sitting at the third position with 109 rating points after having a poor WTC Test-Cycle. Let us tell you that South Africa (RSA) and Australia (AUS) have successfully qualified for the 2023-25 WTC Final which will be taking place at the iconic Lord's Cricket Stadium and this fascinating contest will be played in June of this year.

Before competing in the two-match Test-Series versus the Shaheens, the Temba Bavuma-led South Africa were at the third position in the Test Team Rankings. But, Team India's 1-3 defeat versus the Kangaroos and then their easy 2-0 win over the Green Shirts helped them to snatch the 2nd spot of the rankings away from the Indian Team. 

Talking about other teams, the fifth spot of the rankings is occupied by England (ENG) who have 106 Rating Points to their name and New Zealand (NZ) and the others are quite far away from the top-5 ranks. Fierce-Rivals of India, Pakistan are at the seventh position. 

Team India have failed to qualify for the WTC Final for the very 1st time

When the first even World Test Championship (WTC) final was played in 2021, Team India had locked horns versus the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand (NZ). However, much to dismay of the Indian fans, the Virat Kohli-led team had to face an embarrassing defeat as the Kiwis secured a comfortable eight-wicket win and lifted the WTC Test-Mace for the very first time. 

The Men in Blue then qualified for then qualified for yet another WTC Final in 2023 where they faced the Mighty Aussies but even in that game, they had to suffer a defeat as the Pat Cummins-led team won by a margin of 209 runs. This time around, it's going to be the first time ever in the history of the competition that a Final will be played without the participation of the Indian Team.

Updated ICC Test-Team Rankings

Position	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	Australia	36	4531	126
2	India	39	4248	109
3	South Africa	27	2932	109
4	England	46	4815	105
5	New Zealand	33	3216	97
6	Sri Lanka	25	2271	91
7	Pakistan	27	2225	82
8	West Indies	29	2184	75
9	Bangladesh	29	1884	65
10	Ireland	5	131	26
11	Afghanistan	6	112	19
12	Zimbabwe	6	0	0