India retained the top position in the ICC's men's ODI team rankings after the latest annual update with reigning world champions Australia claiming the third spot.
In a statement issued on Monday, the ICC said, “India remain at the pinnacle of the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings after the latest annual update, leading second-placed New Zealand (113 points) by a narrow five-point margin, while Australia (109 points) retain the third place to round off the top three.” India have slipped marginally by a single rating point, and now have 118 points to their name.
The annual rankings update applies full weightage (100 per cent) to matches played since May 2025, while results from the previous two years are given half weightage (50 per cent). South Africa's tally of 102 points allowed them to edge past Pakistan's 98 points and break into the top four.
The remainder of the top 10 remains unchanged, with Sri Lanka (96), Afghanistan (93) and England (89) completing the top eight. Bangladesh are ninth with 84 points, while the West Indies are on 74 points now, and trail the Tigers by 10 points compared to six in the previous update.
“This particular outcome has important ramifications for both the sides, as they seek to secure a direct qualification for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027,” the ICC said. "The top eight teams in the ICC Rankings as of March 31, 2027 will secure direct qualification alongside hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, who have automatically qualified,” it said.
In this context, if South Africa continue to remain in the top eight positions, given their automatic qualification for the tournament, the ninth spot becomes key to a direct World Cup ticket. Ireland (54) have edged past Zimbabwe (53) into 11th place, while USA climbed to 13th, overtaking Scotland with a tally of 46 points compared to Scotland's 44. UAE also made gains, moving to 19th after overtaking Canada with a tally of 16 points.
Also read: India retain No. 1 spot in ICC T20I rankings
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