Bangladesh to enter Champions Trophy 2017 as sixth ranked team

Team Bangladesh registered a historic win in the final ODI of the tri-series in Ireland. They beat the New Zealand side in a convincing manner in what was their first ever win against New Zealand away from home. The win has definitely boosted their confidence ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. With the win, they have put themselves in a strong position going into the competition.

Another incentive that has come their way is in terms of the ICC ODI rankings. With the superlative win over the black caps, the Bangladesh side has now moved to their best ever 6th position in the ICC ODI rankings. They pipped their Asian neighbors, Sri Lanka, to nose ahead in the table. With the cut off date for the ICC World Cup 2019 being round the corner, the eyes would be on the points table.

After notching up the 5 wicket win over New Zealand, Bangladesh is now placed on par with Sri Lanka with 93 points. However, the decimal points seem to have been working in the favor of the Bangla tigers. Sri Lanka has 92.8 points as compared to Bangladesh’s 93.3 points. In the tri-series, Bangladesh had earlier romped to an 8-wicket win over the hosts Ireland as well.

Wake up call for Pakistan, West Indies

The good performances now see them ahead of three former World Champions in the rankings – Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and West Indies. September 30, 2017, is the cut off date for the direct qualification for the ICC World Cup 2019. Teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and West Indies will now be under the threat of losing out on the opportunity of direct qualifications.

Pakistan only has the ICC Champions Trophy as their international assignment before the cut-off date. West Indies, on the other hand, has a chance when they host India in the ODI series post the Champions Trophy.

ICC ODI Rankings: