Much like the cricket fans of the country, even Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan found himself in disbelief when he first saw the updated International Cricket Council ODI team rankings where the Tigers jumped from seventh to fifth position.
“I saw the rankings before I went to the [ICC] meeting [in Dubai]. I thought they had made a mistake. I thought they were No 7, when did they become No 5? I checked Cricinfo and even there Bangladesh were No 7. I was in a lot of tension after seeing the rankings so I was waiting for it to come up in the meeting. I was the sole Bangladesh representative so you can imagine how I felt,” he said.
However, soon after his announcement, there was confusion over whether Bangladesh would really rise to fifth position.
Dhaka Tribune has learned thereafter that the Tigers would have been fifth if results of the last two years were only taken into account. The ODI rankings are calculated in accordance with a three-year cycle, as opposed to two years. As such, when the ICC releases the annual ODI rankings on May 1 this year, Bangladesh would retain their seventh position.
Under the same three-year calculation method, direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup will be decided and England, along with the seven next highest-ranked sides will progress. The series which will be used for calculation purposes will be 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, with results of 2014-15 and 2015-16 to be weighted at 50 per cent and results of 2016-17 to be weighted at 100 per cent.
If one will only considers series results from 2014-15 and 2015-16 (as no matches in the 2016-17 season have been played as yet), then Bangladesh have a ranking of fifth.
Source: Prothom Alo
