Bangladesh needs to avoid whitewash to stay ahead of Pakistan in rankings

Team Bangladesh is all set to take on New Zealand for a long series. They will play 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is and 2 Tests on the tour. The action starts with the ODI series. Boxing day will see the action go underway. Ahead of the series, Bangladesh have their task cut out. All they need to do is to avoid being whitewashed by New Zealand in the ODI series. A whitewash would see them slip in the ICC ODI rankings.

Bangladesh are currently placed at number 7 in the ODI rankings with 95 points to their name. Pakistan are placed at number 8 with 89 points and they are followed by West Indies. The rankings hold the paramount importance as it will be the parameter for automatic qualification for the ICC World Cup 2019 to be held in England and Wales.

The top 8 teams as on September 30, 2017 will qualify for the top most ODI tournament in 2019. The ones missing out in being the top 8 rankings will have to play the qualifiers to make it to the tournament proper. With the current trend, West Indies are facing severe crisis of missing out on the berth of automatic qualification. Pakistan are on the brink too.

However, if New Zealand beats Bangladesh 3-0, Bangladesh will slip to number 8 and Pakistan will have a chance to surge ahead. Pakistan are scheduled to play a 5-match ODI series against Australia next month. At the same time, if New Zealand lose the series by any margin, they will also drop one place in the rankings. New Zealand were recently drubbed 3-0 by Australia.

If Bangladesh wins 3-0, they will finish on 100 points and New Zealand will have just 105 points. A 3-0 win for Kiwis will see Bangladeshi team slip to 91 and Kiwis stand strong at 111. If Bangladesh wins 2-1, they will have 97 points and New Zealand will go below England in the rankings.