England vs India 2018: Will India hold the No.1 spot in ICC Rankings after the Test series?

Seven days. Yes, we are just seven days short to the start of the Test series between India and England, a contest that is expected to be one hell of an encounter.

With India having won the T20I series and England the ODI series, the Tests between India and England will turn out to be the deciding factor in probing the overall outcome of the tour.

The deafening enigma that India faces right now is the fitness status of their fast bowling specialists, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With Bhuvi all set to miss the first three Tests, Bumrah's injury will aggravate the chances for the touring Indian team.

Another question that will arise ahead of the 5-match Test series is: Will India hold the No.1 rank in the ICC Test Rankings after the completion of the series?

The Indian team currently holds the No.1 spot, with a tally of 120 points, in the current ICC Test Rankings. Meanwhile, the Englishmen are at the No.5 spot, with a tally of 100 points.

So, in this piece, we will try and find an answer to the above question with the help of ICC sanctioned Team Rankings Predictor which will accommodate us to contemplate the various possible combinations of the resultant ICC Test Rankings of both the teams, India and England, after the end of the series.

Let us understand the ICC Team Rankings Predictor and its working

David Kendix on the left side

The ICC renowned Team Rankings Predictor is an algorithm that works on the basis of the ICC Team Rankings rating method developed by David Kendix.

As per ICC, this rating draws the ratio of the number of points scored by a team to the number of matches played by the team, with the answer given to the nearest whole number.

It is similar to the calculation of batting average for a particular batsman where the number of points supersedes the number of runs and the number of matches substitutes the number of dismissals.

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The below-mentioned tables highlight the results of the ICC Team Rankings Predictor for different possible scenarios

Case 1: If India wins the series

If India wins the series

Case 2: If England wins the series

If England wins the series

Case 3: If the series ends in a draw

If the series ends in a draw

Conclusion

After giving a good eye on the above observations we can safely conclude that there happens to be no scenario in this real world where India will lose its No.1 spot in the current ICC Test Rankings.

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Note: The results obtained from ICC Team Rankings Predictor also depend upon the other teams who will be playing an ODI series in the same leg. However, it does not apply here as other teams are way below in the current ICC ODI Team Rankings.