India achieved the historic feat of being ranked the No. 1 ranked side across the three formats of the game on Wednesday. While fans were busy heaping praise on Rohit Sharma, during whose captaincy the feat was achieved, the rejoice was, however, short lived. The Apex body for Cricket issued an almost immediate clarification stating it was a technical error on their official website that displayed India as the No. 1 Test side over the correct toppers, Australia.
“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. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” the clarification stated.
Therefore, Australia will remain as the No. 1 ranked Test side despite facing a humbling defeat at the hands of India in the first Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series played at Nagpur. The hosts, who are chasing a third-consecutive series victory against the Aussies and a berth in the final of the Global Test Championship to be played at the Oval in June, have taken a 1-0 lead in the series.
The second Test of the BGT begins Friday in Delhi
The second Test of the BGT series will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, previously known as the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi from Friday, February 17. Notably, Team India has not lost a match at the Kotla since 1987. However, head coach Rahul Dravid has warned not to go as per records and rather focus on the upcoming days of action.
“We don’t look at previous history and go back in time. We cannot get carried away by that. Australia are an experienced team and have good players who know they want to come back,” said Dravid.
The head coach also hinted at the possibilities of Shreyas Iyer featuring in the XI for the upcoming game.
“We will assess it and tomorrow as well, when he comes in for a light hit and see how he feels,” hinted Dravid. “But certainly if he is ready to take the load of a five-day Test match, then without doubt, with his performances in the past, he will walk straight into the side.”
