India have dropped to second place in the World Test Championship table after the ICC announced a new points system.
The change was made due to the ongoing disruption to fixtures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
To date, under half of the World Test Championship matches have been played because of the unprecedented global situation.
The ICC board has now approved a new way of accounting for the unplayed matches on the points table.
The use of win percentage has now replaced previous regulations that treated unplayed games as a draw with the points being split.
The move came after recommendations by the ICC Committee, which was headed by Anil Kumble.
However, the tweak has meant that Virat Kohli’s side has now been replaced in first by Tim Paine’s Australia.
Previous defeats against New Zealand did more damage to India than first thought. It pulled down their win percentage enough to see them drop to second, despite having three series wins to their name compared to Australia’s two. England are in a close third place.
Even though India also has the most points so far, it is at a win percent of 75.00 compared to Australia’s 82.22.
Australia Test Tour Given More Significance
In an official statement from the ICC, chief executive Manu Sawhney said: “Both the Cricket Committee and Chief Executives Committee supported the approach of ranking teams based on completed matches and points earned. This reflects their performance and doesn't disadvantage teams that have been unable to complete all of their matches through no fault of their own.
“We explored a whole range of options, but our members felt strongly that we should proceed as planned with the first-ever World Test Championship Final in June next year.”
It now adds even more significance to India’s upcoming Test series in Australia as they look to take another step towards the World Test Championship final at Lord's.
India are also having to do without skipper Virat Kohli for all but one Test encounter Down Under after the batsman was given permission to return to India on paternity leave.
