Pakistan slip behind Bangladesh in World Test Championship as India regain top spot
Cricket
Pakistan have been relegated to fifth spot after 3-0 loss to Australia
(Web Desk) – Pakistan have fallen behind Bangladesh in the fresh World Test ranking issued by the cricket governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the Indian home series victory over England.
India have extended their lead at the top of the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) points table by winning five match series 4-1.
Pakistan have been relegated to the fifth spot after 3-0 loss to Australia while Bangladesh have played only Test during the period and won it.
Earlier, India had slipped to fifth place on points table after losing the first Test of the series against England Hyderabad. They climbed back up to No. 1 by winning the next three matches. The innings victory in Dharamsala extended their percentage points to 68.51%, having earned 74 out of 108 points after playing nine matches (six wins, two defeats, one draw) in the ongoing WTC cycle.
According to the WTC points system, a team gets 12 points for a Test win, six for a tie, four for a draw, and nothing for a defeat. And they are ranked according to the percentage of points won because each team plays a different number of Tests in the WTC cycle.
Points are also deducted for slow over rate penalties, which is why England have only 21 points despite winning three Tests in this WTC cycle. They have lost 19 points for slow over-rate penalties and are at eighth place with only 17.5 percentage points after playing 10 Tests.
New Zealand are at second spot with 60% points and Australia are third with 59.09%.
With only a Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Test series to go before the IPL season begins on March 22, India are set to remain No. 1 for a few months.
Bangladesh are presently fourth in the WTC points table, but they have played only one series in the ongoing cycle, followed by Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa, England and Sri Lanka.
The top two teams at the end of the WTC cycle will play the final at Lord's in June 2025. India had qualified for both the previous WTC finals so far, but lost to New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023.
ICC RANKINGS
POINTS TABLE
