Pakistan at historic low in Test rankings, Bangladesh in sixth place

Pakistan has suffered a major setback in the rankings after being whitewashed 3-0 by England in the three-match Test series. Due to the failure in the series the team has slipped one place to ninth in the Test rankings. Pakistan has never fallen so low in Test history before.

Pakistan could not recover after losing the first Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs. They also failed to bounce back at Lord’s and Edgbaston. They ended the series after losing the second Test by 194 runs and the third by eight wickets. After the third Test at Edgbaston ended, Pakistan’s rating points stood at 71 in the updated ICC rankings.

West Indies have moved up one place due to Pakistan’s fall. The Caribbean side is now eighth in the Test rankings with 74 rating points. In other words, only the positions of Pakistan and West Indies have been swapped.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh remain sixth in the rankings with 68 rating points. The paths of the two teams in recent Test performances have also been different. Bangladesh had won both Tests at home against Pakistan in May. Both matches of the series ended in five days. Bangladesh won by 104 and 78 runs respectively.

After absorbing the shock of a heavy defeat against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh then ended the two-Test series in Australia 1-1. On the strength of that performance Najmul Hossain Shanto’s side regained their sixth position in the Test rankings.

On the other hand, Pakistan had ended the two-Test series in the West Indies 1-1. Babar Azam returned to Test captaincy after three years with that series. However, the decline in Pakistan’s rankings has become clearer after heavy defeats in all three matches on the England tour.

In the current Test rankings Australia are at the top with 126 rating points. South Africa with 119, New Zealand with 106, India with 105 and England with 102 points occupy the second to fifth places respectively. Zimbabwe in tenth place have 17 rating points.