India Keeps No. 1 Spot in ICC ODI Rankings as Lead Narrows
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — India retained the top position in the latest ICC men’s ODI team rankings after the annual update released Monday, though its lead over New Zealand narrowed.
India’s rating slipped one point, from 119 to 118, while New Zealand gained two points to reach 113. The change reduced India’s lead over the second-ranked side from eight points to five.
Despite the smaller margin, India remains the top-ranked ODI team in men’s cricket and continues to hold the No. 1 spot in the men’s T20I rankings after last week’s update.
Australia, the reigning ODI world champion, remained third with an unchanged rating of 109.
South Africa made the biggest move in the top five, climbing above Pakistan into fourth place. South Africa gained four rating points to reach 102, while Pakistan dropped four points to 98 and fell to fifth.
Sri Lanka stayed sixth despite losing two points, finishing the update with a rating of 96. Afghanistan remained seventh at 93 after a minor decline. England stayed eighth after gaining one point, while Bangladesh held ninth place with 84 points.
The gap between Bangladesh and the West Indies widened after the Caribbean side lost three rating points and fell to 74 in 10th place.
Outside the top 10, Ireland moved ahead of Zimbabwe into 11th after gaining two rating points. Zimbabwe slipped to 12th after losing one point.
The United States also improved, overtaking Scotland for 13th place after raising its rating to 46. Scotland dropped one spot after losing a point.
The Netherlands posted one of the strongest gains in the update, adding four points to reach 44, while Oman improved to 33. Nepal dropped four points to 25, while Namibia edged up to 23.
Near the bottom of the table, the United Arab Emirates moved ahead of Canada into 19th place after gaining three points. Canada had the sharpest decline in the update, losing six points and falling to the bottom of the rankings with a rating of 10.
The ICC’s annual update reflects performances over a defined rankings period, with more recent results carrying greater weight.
Australia currently leads the men’s Test rankings and also holds the top spot in both the women’s ODI and women’s T20I team rankings. (Source: IANS)
