Chance for Bangladesh to take lead towards the ICC Champions Trophy 2017

Chance for Bangladesh to take lead towards the ICC Champions Trophy 2017: As the Indian and Bangladesh teams prepare themselves for the upcoming 3 ODI series, this is also a chance for the home team to beat the visitors and gain some invaluable ranking points. The importance of a win is even more now as three teams West Indies, Bangladesh and Pakistan placed at number 7, 8 & 9 in the ODI team ranking are at a distance of one point each and a win over India will help the Bangladeshi’s edge past them and lead towards a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Bangladesh faces India in the three-match One-Day Internationals (ODIs) series in Mirpur on Thursday knowing that a series win will give it a boost in the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings as two places in the coveted ICC Champions Trophy 2017 are still up for grabs.

Host England, plus the seven next highest-ranked sides on the Reliance ICC ODI Team Rankings as on 30 September 2015, will progress to the tournament, which will be staged from 1 to 19 June in England and Wales.

Bangladesh is currently level with the West Indies on 88 points but is ranked below the West Indies in eighth position, while Pakistan is one point behind in ninth spot. If Bangladesh wins the series 3-0, then it will move to 96 points while a 2-1 win will see the host rise to 93 points. Even if Bangladesh loses the series 2-1, it will be enough to put it ahead of the West Indies in seventh place by a fraction of a point.

MS Dhoni’s side, in contrast, can reduce leader Australia’s advantage to 10 points should it sweep the series three-nil. In this scenario, Bangladesh will slip to ninth position on 96 points.

If India wins the series 2-1, it will remain on 117 points, while a 2-1 loss will mean it will join New Zealand on 115 points but will still be ranked above Brendon McCullum’s side, which is currently in the middle of a highly entertaining series with England and holds a 2-1 lead after the first three games. The series concludes in Chester-le-Street on 20 June.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli enters the forthcoming series as the highest-ranked batsman on either side in fourth place in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI Batsmen. The Delhi-born right-hander is one of the three India batsmen inside the top 10 alongside Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Dhoni (ninth).

Mushfiqur Rahim is Bangladesh’s highest-ranked batsman in 18^th position, five points adrift of England’s Jos Buttler, while much will depend on Tamim Iqbal (27^th), Shakib Al Hasan (33^rd) and Nasir Hossain (42^nd) as the hosts bid to create daylight between the West Indies and Pakistan.

In the Reliance ICC Players Rankings for ODI Bowlers, Bangladesh’s Shakib, who hit the 150-cap mark last time out against Pakistan, has seventh-ranked Saeed Ajmal in his sights. The left-arm spinner will also be aiming to hit the 200-wicket mark during the series as he currently stands on 195. In eighth place, he is the highest-ranked bowler heading into the series.

However, India has four bowlers inside the top 20, with Ravichandran Ashwin (12^th) leading the way. Five points then separate Umesh Yadav (16^th), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (17^th) and Ravindra Jadeja (18^th).

The Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI All-rounders still sees Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan lead the way with a six-point gap over second-placed Shakib, who, in turn, holds a 20-point lead over Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews.

ENGLAND V NEW ZEALAND

Meanwhile, with New Zealand holding a 2-1 advantage over England with two games remaining, several players have made significant advances on both sides.

Black Caps’ Ross Taylor leads the way as he has climbed to a career-high eighth position to date following scores of 57, 119 not out and 110 in the series so far. Kane Williamson has moved up a position to sixth after accumulating scores of 45, 93 and 118.

England players making positive advances include Joe Root, who has joined Rohit Sharma in 12^th position after scoring 164 runs in three games. Jos Buttler has also leapt nine spots to 17^th after accumulating 183 runs to date, while England skipper Eoin Morgan, who is third on the list of highest run-getters after three matches following scores of 50, 88 and 71, has vaulted 11 places to 34^th position.

New Zealand’s left-arm fast bowler, Trent Boult, has continued his fine run of form in 50-over cricket, which saw him selected for the ICC Cricket World Cup Team of the Tournament. His six wickets for a miserly 108 runs to date has lifted him up three spots to joint-second alongside South Africa’s Imran Tahir.

England bowler Steven Finn’s five wickets to date have also pushed him up two places to 13^th, while Tim Southee (up one to 19^th) and Matt Henry (up 12 to 53^rd) are also on the rise.

With the fourth (Trent Bridge) and fifth (Chester-le-Street) ODIs down for decision over the coming days, further movements are expected on both sides.

Upcoming fixtures- 

Bangladesh v India:
18 Jun – 1^st ODI, Mirpur (d/n)
21 Jun – 2^nd ODI, Mirpur (d/n)
24 Jun – 3^rd ODI, Mirpur (d/n)

England v New Zealand:
17 June – 4^th ODI, Nottingham (d/n)
19 Jun – 5^th ODI, Durham (d)

Reliance ICC ODI Championship table (as on 16 June, after first three England-New Zealand matches and ahead of Bangladesh-India series):

Check the ICC ODI Team Rankings here

Check the ICC ODI Batsmen’s Ranking here

Check the ICC ODI Bowlers Ranking here

Check the ICC ODI All-rounder’s Ranking here