 "ICC World test Championship")
Australian cricket team has pushed India to the second spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday effected changes to the WTC rules. The changes in ICC WTC points system has be made as several bilateral series could not be played due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Changes to the rules were made to determine the nine teams' standings on the points table.
ICC World Test Championship new rules
Although India (360 points) still has 64 more points than Australia (296) and more series wins, the Aussies have gone atop after the ICC Board approved that the matches played and the matches lost won't be treated as drawn and points would be split. Australia now has 0.822 percentage points (82.2 per cent), which propelled them to the No.1 spot, while India has 0.750 (75 per cent).
The changes were recommended by the Anil Kumble-headed ICC Cricket Committee.
England is at the third position with 0.608 percentage points (60.8 per cent), New Zealand fourth with 0.500 (50 per cent), and Pakistan fifth with 0.395 (39.5 per cent).
ICC WTC points table
| Ranking | Teams | Series Played | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Tied | PCT (%) | Series Won | RpW ratio* | Total Points |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 82.2 | 2 | 1.604 | 296 |
| 2 | India | 4 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 75 | 3 | 2.011 | 360 |
| 3 | England | 4 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 60.8 | 3 | 1.223 | 292 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0.883 | 180 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 4 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 39.5 | 1 | 0.853 | 166 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.3 | 0 | 0.589 | 80 |
| 7 | West Indies | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16.7 | 0 | 0.527 | 40 |
| 8 | South Africa | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12.5 | 0 | 0.521 | 30 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.304 | 0 |
| Top two team will qualify for final | |||||||||||
as of November 20, 2020
India's schedule for ICC World Test championship
India will lock horns with Australia in a four-match Test series in Australia starting December 17 in Adelaide. The result of this series could change the league standings.
| Matches | Date | Time (IST) | Venue |
| First Test (D/N) | Dec 17-21 | 9:30 AM | Adelaide Oval |
| Second Test | Dec 26-30 | 5:00 PM | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Third Test | Jan 7-11 | 5:00 PM | Sydney Cricket Ground |
| Fourth Test | Jan 15-19 | 5:30 PM | The Gabba, Brisbane |
"The unprecedented disruption caused by Covid-19 means, to date, just under half of the WTC matches have been played, with that estimated to rise to more than 85 per cent by the end of the competition window. Current regulations dictate that matches not completed shall be treated as a draw with points split. The Cricket Committee considered maintaining that status quo or determining the final WTC League standings from matches played," said an ICC press statement on Thursday.
"The Cricket Committee recommended the latter option, which was approved by the Chief Executives Committee and ratified by the Board, meaning teams will be ranked in order of percentage of points earned," it said.
