India drop down to No.7 in latest ICC Test rankings; South Africa continue hold over top spot

India’s Test fortunes have suffered a massive dip in recent times

While India’s limited-overs cricket is in the pink of health illustrated by their semi-final appearance at the recently concluded World Cup, the same cannot be said about their Test cricket with them having slipped to No.7 in the latest ICC Test rankings. The Indian team hasn’t played a Test series at home, which is their traditional stronghold, since Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series against West Indies in November 2013, and that has clearly manifested itself in the rankings.

Over the last 12-15 months, India have played 13 Tests in total spanning across challenging tours of South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. Out of those 13 matches, they have managed to win just one while drawing five. As a result, they find themselves languishing at No.7 with just 95 points.

The fact that they are currently only above West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, all of whom have been at the bottom rung of the ladder on a consistent basis in the last few years, should be a rude awakening that there is an urgent need of improvement in the longest format.

South Africa, meanwhile, continue their domination at the top of the rankings with 124 points, closely followed by Australia at No.2.

ICC Test rankings

Rank	Team	Matches	Rating	Points
1	South Africa	31	3839	124
2	Australia	40	4718	118
3	England	39	4063	104
4	Pakistan	30	3090	103
5	New Zealand	37	3660	99
6	Sri Lanka	34	3258	96
7	India	34	3228	95
8	West Indies	30	2272	76
9	Bangladesh	21	676	32
10	Zimbabwe	13	228	18