'Boys played tough cricket in tough times; overcame every hurdle' - Ravi Shastri on India's No.1 Test ranking

The International Cricket Council released the annual update for the Test rankings on Thursday (13th May 2021) and India held its number one position for the fifth year on the trot, having accumulated 2914 points from 24 matches in this cycle.

The team has delivered performances without any misses and the recent 2-1 win over Australia and 3-1 win over England helped them edge over all others to secure the position. Following India closely are their World Test Championship rivals, New Zealand, who sit at the second spot with 2166 points from 18 Tests.

Meanwhile, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri feels that India deserved the crown of being the world’s No.1 Test team given the method of calculation of points changed midway in the World Test Championship, and they still managed to top the WTC points table. Notably, the ICC had brought in the change after the Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of multiple series that was supposed to be a part of the WTC cycle.

It is something the boys have earned fair and square: Ravi Shastri 

“This team has shown steely resolve & unwavering focus to be crowned No. 1. It is something the boys have earned fair & square. Rules changed midway but #TeamIndia overcame every hurdle along the way. My boys played tough cricket in tough times. Super proud of this bindass bunch,” Shastri tweeted on May 13th.

The former India captain has been serving as the head coach of the Indian team since 2017 and has got an extension after the 2019 ICC World Cup. India will now square off with New Zealand in the much-anticipated WTC final, which gets underway from June 18 at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, and will be followed by a five-match Test series against England that will run until mid-September.

Most of the Indian players were in action recently in the IPL, which had to be postponed midway after Covid-19 cases emerged inside the bio-bubble and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL Governing Council (GC) decided to postpone the tournament immediately and for an indefinite period.

This 🇮🇳team has shown steely resolve & unwavering focus to be crowned No. 1. It is something the boys have earned fair & square. Rules changed midway but #TeamIndia overcame every hurdle along the way. My boys played tough cricket in tough times. Super proud of this bindass bunch pic.twitter.com/StzcsexCRF

— Ravi Shastri (@RaviShastriOfc) May 13, 2021