DHAKA, May 2, 2020 (BSS)-Bangladesh could retain their ninth position in
the latest ICC Test rankings but largely because Afghanistan is yet to play
enough matches to figure on the rankings table.
Afghan’s rating point at this moment is 57 while Bangladesh has 55, after
losing five rating points as per the latest rankings that was published on
Friday.
Zimbabwe as usually languishes at the No. 10th position in rankings with 18
rating points.
Afghanistan played only four matches and won two, including a 224-run win
against Bangladesh in August 2019. That big victory basically enabled them to
earn more rating points than Bangladesh. If they get the chance to play
enough Test matches, there is possibility that they could overtake Bangladesh
in rakings officially.
While Afghanistan surged strongly in the Test cricket, Bangladesh’s
performance in longer version format was awful in 2019 as they lost all five
matches-four of them came by an innings margin. They only got back to winning
way by defeating Zimbabwe in a solitary Test match in this year.
However the big news in the new rankings was that Australia displaced India
to regain their No.1 position in the Test rankings. In the latest update,
that rates all matches played since May 2019 at 100 per cent and those of the
previous two years at 50 per cent, Australia (116) have taken over from India
as the top ranked side in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings with New
Zealand (115) remaining in second place. India are now third with 114 points.
With only two points separating them, this is the second closest the top
three teams have been since the Test rankings were launched in 2003. The
closest for the top three teams was in January 2016, when India had led
Australia and South Africa by a single point.
In ODI rankings also, Bangladesh retained their previous seventh position
with 88 points but with 85 points, Sri Lanka breathed heavily on Bangladesh.
World Champions England retained the No.1 position in ODI rankings.
Australia topped the T20 rankings for the first time since the system was
introduced in 2011. However Bangladesh saw an improvement in this format as
they claimed eighth position with 229 points. Bangladesh indeed heavily
breathed on Sri Lanka who has 230 points in this format. Bangladesh’s maiden
victory over India in this format last year was the catalyst behind their
improvement in the rankings in this format.