Top-ranked Australia and second-ranked India will have to complete comprehensive wins in their upcoming away Test series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies respectively so as not to lose crucial points in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings.

The West Indies will host India in a four-Test series starting in Antigua on Thursday, 21 July, while Australia will go head to head with Sri Lanka in Pallekele from 26 July in a three-Test series. India is ahead of eighth-ranked the West Indies by 44 points and Australia leads seventh-ranked Sri Lanka by 33 points, and because the rankings are weighted to reflect this difference, India and Australia’s failure to win their series convincingly will mean they will drop points.

India will have to defeat the West Indies by a margin of 3-0 or better to stay at 112 points. Even a 3-1 or 2-0 win for India will see it slip to 110 points. On the other hand, a 3-1 or 2-0 win by the West Indies will see it rise to 79 points with India dropping below the 100-point mark to 98.

Similarly, Australia will have to win 2-0 or better against seventh-ranked Sri Lanka to ensure it does not go below its current 118 points. In contrast, even Sri Lanka’s 1-0 win over Australia will earn it seven points and move to 92 while Steve Smith’s side will slip to 111 points.

With England and Pakistan already involved in a four-Test series in England, major shake-up on top of the Test table is on the cards depending how the three series pan out.

MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings (as of 19 July 2016, before the start of India-West Indies and Sri Lanka-Australia series)

Rank   Team               Points

1.     Australia            118

2.     India                  112

3.     Pakistan             111

4.     England             108

5.     New Zealand       98

6.     South Africa        92

7.     Sri Lanka             85

8.     West Indies          65

9.     Bangladesh          57