India could climb to an unprecedented second spot from their present third in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ratings if they beat Pakistan 2-0 in the three-match series in February-March.

"India has never been higher than its current third place in the official Test table since it was launched in May 2001, but a 2-0 win will be enough to see it leapfrog England into second," said an ICC statement here.

At present, Australia leads the table with a rating of 130 followed by England with 110 and India (108).

"Victory by two clear Test matches would boost India's rating to 111, an increase of four points and, crucially, one higher than England," said the ICC.

"A 3-0 victory for the home side would increase the gap ahead of England to two points while a 1-0 win would leave India level with England on 110 points but behind in the table when the ratings are recalculated to three decimal places," it said.

Pakistan, currently fifth in the Test table with 101, has never been in the top two of the official ratings but did climb to the third position on two occasions last year.

If they can win the series in India 2-0 or 3-0, they will overtake India and reclaim the third spot, according to calculations.

However, a defeat for Pakistan could see them drop below the sixth-placed South Africa (99 points), to sixth position.

"A drawn series will see India's rating drop by one point and Pakistan's rating improve by the same amount but their positions will remain unchanged," said the ICC.

Current ICC Test Championship table:

1 Australia 130 points
2 England 110
3 India 108
4 Sri Lanka 103
5 Pakistan 101
6 South Africa 99
7 New Zealand 93
8 West Indies 73
9 Zimbabwe 42
10 Bangladesh 6