Pakistan have slipped further in the ICC Test team rankings after their defeat to England, while Bangladesh have risen three places to a career-best sixth (Geo News).
Pakistan remain eighth, with Sri Lanka seventh.
The defeat behind it
Pakistan lost the opening Test of the three-match series at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs on Friday. Trailing by 238 after the first innings, they were bowled out for 135 in their second.
(This newspaper initially reported that margin as an innings and 120 runs, following Geo News; the scorecard records an innings and 103. Our report has been corrected.)
Pakistan also dropped back to the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 standings.
Bangladesh’s rise
Bangladesh’s climb followed a 1-1 draw in Australia — a result that would have been improbable a month ago.
They recorded their first-ever Test victory on Australian soil, beating the hosts by nine wickets in the opening Test at Marrara Stadium in Darwin, before losing the second at Mackay by an innings and 51 runs as Mitchell Starc took 10 for 51.
That series pushed both Sri Lanka and Pakistan down.
The table
Australia retained top spot, followed by South Africa and New Zealand, with India fourth and England fifth.
Geo News gives Pakistan 1,427 points in eighth and Sri Lanka 1,222 in seventh. Those figures are total points rather than ratings — ICC positions are determined by rating, which divides points by matches played, so a side with more accumulated points can sit below one with fewer.
What is left of the series
Two Tests remain. The second begins at Lord’s on August 27, with Babar Azam expected to return from a finger injury and Pakistan considering playing two spinners.
