ICC Apologises For 'Technical Error' Which Showed India As No.1 Test Side

For a brief period of time on Wednesday, the ICC had showed India as the number 1 Test side.

India's players celebrates after the dismissal of Australia's Todd Murphy (not pictured) during the third day of the first Test cricket match between India and Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on February 11, 2023.

Source : AFP

While the International Cricket Council (ICC) has showed India as the world's number 1 Test side across formats for a brief period of time on Wednesday (February 15), later Australia were back at the top of the Test rankings. However, in the duration in which India were ranked the number 1 Test side on the cricket governing body's official website, several media reports also wrongly reported, trusting ICC's word, that India had overtaken Australia in the ICC Rankings.

In an official release, the global cricket administrating organisation has issued a clarification saying that Australia continue to be at the top of the rankings despite their innings and 132-runs defeat in their series opener against India. Meanwhile, ICC has also issued a clarification and given the reason behind the huge gaffe.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused: ICC

"The ICC acknowledges, for a short period of time on February 15, 2023 that, due to a technical error, India were erroneously displayed as the No.1 Test team on the ICC website," an official statement read.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused," it added.

After the correction made by the ICC, Australia have 3,668 points and a rating of 126 which keeps them at the helm. India, are not too far behind, with 3,690 points but a rating of 115. England, South Africa and New Zealand complete the top 5 ranked teams in the world in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, India and Australia will lock horns in the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy beginning in Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on February 17. After a dominant win in the opening Test match, India would look to continue the same form heading into the second Test while Australia would want to come up with an improved performance in this match. The Pat Cummins-led side could even make a few changes after losing the previous match inside 3 days.