In the most recent ICC ODI men's Team rankings, which were released on Thursday, India fell to third place, behind Pakistan and three points behind Australia, the top-ranked team in the world.
Australia, a five-time world champion, increased their rating after the yearly update from 113 to 118, keeping a slim lead over Pakistan (116 points) and India (115 points).
“Prior to the annual rankings update, Australia were at the top with 113 points with India trailing them on decimal count,” reads an ICC press statement.
After winning the fourth ODI against New Zealand this month, Pakistan, who was placed third with 112 points, momentarily topped the lists.
If Pakistan had been able to defeat New Zealand 5-0, they could have been able to hold onto first place.
The top three teams are currently just three rating points apart, indicating an exciting race for first place in the World Cup year.
All ODI series played since May 2020 were taken into account for the ICC's yearly rankings, “with series played before May 2022 weighted at 50% and all subsequent series weighted at 100%.”
“As a result, Pakistan has overtaken India for second place, with their 4-0 series loss in England no longer being taken into account. They were able to overtake India in the rankings because to a decreased weighting for their 3-0 series defeat in England in 2021, according to the ICC.
The 2-1 series defeat India suffered at home to Australia this year has had a significant negative effect.
Among other teams, New Zealand is ranked fourth with 104 points, followed by England, which is ranked fifth with 101 points after seeing a “massive 10-point drop in their rating.”
South Africa was rated sixth, Bangladesh was placed seventh, and Afghanistan moved up significantly to take the eighth slot, passing Sri Lanka (ninth) and the West Indies (tenth).
