ICC Test rankings: Bangladesh make history, rise to 7th for the first time

Following today’s victory in the Sylhet Test, Bangladesh national cricket team received another major boost — climbing two places to 7th in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Test rankings.

It is the highest position Bangladesh have ever achieved in Test cricket.

Bangladesh had previously risen to 8th place in 2018. The ICC updated the rankings immediately after the conclusion of the Sylhet Test.

Bangladesh moved up from 9th to 7th, overtaking both the West Indies cricket team and the Pakistan national cricket team. Pakistan slipped two places from 6th to 8th following the series defeat under Shan Masood’s captaincy, while the West Indies dropped one place to 9th. Sri Lanka national cricket team climbed from 7th to 6th.

After whitewashing Pakistan, Bangladesh’s rating points rose to 78, while Pakistan’s dropped to 75. Sri Lanka, directly above Bangladesh, now have 86 points.

Before the series began, Bangladesh had 67 rating points and Pakistan 89. That means Bangladesh gained 11 rating points from the series, while Pakistan lost 14.

Australia national cricket team remain top of the rankings with 131 points. They are followed by South Africa national cricket team (119), India national cricket team (104), England cricket team (102) and New Zealand national cricket team (101).

At the bottom of the table, the West Indies have 68 points, while Zimbabwe national cricket team have 10.

Neither Afghanistan national cricket team nor Ireland cricket team feature in the rankings because they have not played the minimum eight Tests required within the three-year cycle.