India have held on to the No.1 position in the latest ICC men’s ODI team rankings after the annual update, while defending ODI World Cup winners Australia claims third spot.

India are still leading the rankings table with 118 rating points, although they have dropped by one point from the previous update. New Zealand are in second place with 113 points, just five points behind India, while Australia are close behind in third with 109 points.

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How are ICC rankings calculated?

The ICC’s yearly rankings update gives full importance to matches played since May 2025, while games played in the previous two years are counted at 50 per cent value. South Africa moved into the top four after reaching 102 points, pushing Pakistan down to fifth place with 98 points.

The rest of the top 10 teams stayed unchanged. Sri Lanka are sixth with 96 points, followed by Afghanistan on 93 and England on 89.

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Bangladesh are ninth with 84 points, while the West Indies remain 10th with 74 points. The gap between the two sides has now increased to 10 points from six earlier.

Why ICC's latest ODI Rankings Important?

The latest rankings are important because they could play a big role in qualification for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The top eight teams in the ICC rankings as of March 31, 2027, will qualify directly for the tournament, along with hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, who already have automatic qualification.

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If South Africa stay inside the top eight by then, the ninth-ranked team could also get a direct entry spot for the World Cup.

Further down the table, Ireland moved ahead of Zimbabwe to take 11th place with 54 points, while United States climbed to 13th after going past Scotland. USA now have 46 points, compared to Scotland’s 44. The United Arab Emirates also improved their position, moving up to 19th place after overtaking Canada with 16 points.