ICC cricket rankings are changing rapidly in 2025, making “The Rise and Fall of Giants – Major Changes in Cricket Rankings This Season” suitable. The rankings reveal the recent deconstruction and rebuild of cricket’s traditional giants and some of the unexpected underdogs who are on the rise. And when you combine it with today’s cricket betting odds, live cricket match prediction, and rankings-based betting tips, you start to clearly understand how the form of both the teams and betting are affecting rankings and betting decisions.
Test Team Rankings Shake-Up
Australia remains at the top of the Test rankings with a tally of 124 points, while South Africa (115), England (113), India (105), and New Zealand (95) make up the rest of the top five. So that places Australia at the top for sure, but the rise in form of underdog teams like New Zealand just behind them, and the fall of so many teams from their previous positions, with Team India recently dropping from second to fourth place, shows that a lot of the top teams are in fall right now, as well.
One-Day Formats: ODI and T20 Fluctuations
In ODIs, the tables have turned: India (124) sits on top, and New Zealand (109) and Australia (109) are tied for second, followed by Pakistan (104), then Sri Lanka (103). That tie for second depicts the competitiveness of these traditional superpowers. T20 has a similar arc, with India (271) on top, then Australia (262) closely followed by England (257), New Zealand (251), and South Africa (244). These current cricket team rankings do show there is pressure on India, although they are in a strong position in limited overs.
The Fall of Top Cricket Teams
In equivalent runs for ODIs, New Zealand now has a tie with Australia at 109, two spots behind India, with Pakistan and Sri Lanka close behind at 5 and 6 spots (104 & 103 completed runs respectively). That tied position for second represents a very close call for some of the traditional powers in the game of cricket. T20 presents a similar sports pattern (271-262-257-251-244; India-Australia-England-New Zealand-South Africa), that all being said, these latest team rankings demonstrate that India is still leading the board in limited overs, but is under a bit of pressure.
The Rise of Underdog Teams in Cricket
The changes in positions that India fell to 4th in Tests and Pakistan fell just short of a 5th placed ODI show the fluctuating nature of this season, and today betting odds also indicate that bookmakers will adjust to form. An article published on Sportstalkphilly, with its list of the best online cricket betting sites, mentions that bookmaker odds should cite form and injuries before betting, and in the context of Test rankings, this correlates neatly.
Betting Insights from Rankings
Here are the key underdog stories this season:
New Zealand
• Sitting pretty at number two with a stellar 109-point haul in the ODI charts
• 4th in T20 rankings with 251 points
• Consistently strong across formats
South Africa
• Catapulted into second place in the Test charts, fueled by a blazing 115 points
• 5th in T20 rankings with 244 points
• World Test Championship performance fueled their rise
Sri Lanka
• Broke into ODI top five with 103 points
• Short-format cricket has reignited, firing up fans and players alike with unstoppable energy
Betting & Prediction Insights
• These teams offer valuable live match prediction opportunities
• When the numbers climb, the betting game’s upside quietly turns cosmic
• Ideal picks for ranking-based betting tips
High-stakes clashes were common in both ODI and T20 matches. Each match was entertaining. It is important for punters to recognize those changes because they have greater reliability when making live win or loss predictions for cricket matches, and if the rankings have improved, so too would the betting tips as well.
