Pakistan topple West Indies in the ODI team rankings

The Pakistan vs West Indies ODI series was not just important in the context of the current scenario for both the teams but also had a lot of impact as far as the future is concerned. At the start of the series the Pakistani ranked No. 9 while the visitors held the No. 8 position. As per the International Cricket Council (ICC), only the top 8 ranked teams will make a direct entry into the ICC World Cup 2019 main draws while the other two teams will have to win their way through the qualifiers.

It was a clear equation for Pakistan, win the series 3-0 and guarantee yourself a direct qualification. Azhar Ali and his men did so and beat West Indies in all the three ODIs played in the series in the United Arab Emirates to topple them down in the ODI team rankings and move up to the 8th position.

As per the latest rankings Pakistan now have 89 points in their account and have a one point lead over West Indies. The Caribbean team, on the other hand, had started the series with 94 points but having lost the series 3-0 to a team ranked lower to them in the rankings will inflict a heavier damage and do them up as far as World Cup qualification is concerned.

The ICC has set September 30, 2017, as cutoff date and the top 7 teams as on date will make it through automatically along with hosts England to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 main draw. The bottom four teams on the other hand, along with six teams from the ICC World Cricket League will fight it out in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018. The top two sides from the tournament will flow ahead to complete the 10 teams for the World Cup 2019.

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