Pakistan drops down in annual ICC rankings

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) updated its annual team rankings, and the Pakistani team has dropped down in the rankings while the Sri Lankans have gained ground.

Australia has maintained its top spot in the ICC Men’s Test Team Ranking, maintaining its rating of 126.

On the other hand, the Australian team's points dropped from 15 to 13 after the annual update, which counts matches played since May 2024 at full value (100%) and those from the previous two years at half value (50%).

England, under Ben Stokes' captaincy, have surged into second place after a strong year in Test cricket, winning three out of their four series.

Their rating now stands at 113, pushing South Africa (111) and India (105) down to third and fourth, respectively.

The rest of the top 10 remains unchanged, with New Zealand at fifth, followed by Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Only 10 teams are currently ranked in Tests. Ireland must play one more Test within the next year to become eligible, while Afghanistan require three more matches to join the list.

In ODI cricket, India has further solidified their position at the top following their title-winning campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Their rating improved from 122 to 124.

New Zealand, the Champions Trophy runners-up, moved into second place, overtaking Australia, who now sit third.

Sri Lanka enjoyed a remarkable climb, moving into fourth place after recent ODI series wins over both India and Australia.

Their five-point gain allowed them to leapfrog both Pakistan (fifth, +1 point) and South Africa (sixth, -4 points). Afghanistan also climbed to seventh with a four-point boost, pushing England down to eighth.

West Indies jumped to ninth after a five-point gain, while Bangladesh dropped to tenth after losing four points.

Elsewhere, the USA Men's team registered the largest rating increase (+6 points) but remained in 15th place. Oman moved ahead of Canada to take 16th. Other teams retained their positions.

In T20 Internationals, India, the reigning ICC Men’s T20 World Cup champions, continue to hold the top spot.

However, their lead over second-placed Australia has narrowed from 10 to nine points. England, the 2022 champions, are third, followed by New Zealand, the West Indies, and South Africa in the next three spots.

Sri Lanka’s upward trend continues as they climbed to seventh, overtaking Pakistan, which dropped to eighth. Bangladesh and Afghanistan complete the top 10. Ireland improved to 11th, swapping positions with Zimbabwe.

In terms of movement beyond the top 10, Canada made the biggest rating gain (+9 points), breaking into the top 20.

Among lower-ranked nations, the Bahamas and Estonia recorded the biggest positional jumps, climbing eight and seven places to 51st and 61st, respectively.

source geo news