Tigers face easy challenges ahead to qualify for the Champions Trophy

The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be played from 1 to 19 June in England and Wales, and the host country (England), plus the next seven highest-ranked ODI sides will participate in the event. 

Bangladesh, with 88 points, rose to eighth place lasf month after a 3-0 drubbing of Pakistan, who are a point behind them at ninth. West Indies are at the moment ranked seventh.

As a result, Bangladesh, Pakistan and West Indies are now locked in a tight struggle for the remaining two slots in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 whose cut-off date is 30 September 2015.

ICC ODI Team Rankings.

The latest Future Tours Program lists the following ODI series for these teams:

West Indies (88 points): No ODIs scheduled
Bangladesh (88 points): Versus India (home, 3 ODIs, June) and versus South Africa (home, 3 ODIs, July)
Pakistan (87 points): Versus Zimbabwe (home, 3 ODIs,May) and versus Sri Lanka (away, 5 ODIs, July).

Bangladesh will make it to the ICC Champions Trophy if they can win at least one match in both the series against India and South Africa. There will be chances for them to qualify even if they don’t win any of their next matches by 30 September. But in that case, they will have to depend on Pakistan’s performance. Pakistan’s a lose against Zimbabwe will be enough for them to secure their entrance in the tournament formerly known as ICC Mini World Cup.

For Pakistan, the equation is a bit more difficult than the Tigers. To secure their place in the event, they must whitewash Zimbabwe and seal the Sri Lanka series by a clinical margin of 4-1. Losing a match against Zimbabwe will eliminate them from the race to grab a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy.

West Indies, who are ranked seventh, currently have no ODIs scheduled between now and September 30, leaving them potentially vulnerable to Pakistan, who have eight matches to come – three at home to Zimbabwe and five in Sri Lanka each at home, and Bangladesh have three against India and South Africa.

To get a chance to play in the tournament – which is second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup – they will have to be praying so that Bangladesh can’t win any of their next 6 matches against the mighty India and South Africa. However, this won’t be enough for them. They will also have to look forward if Pakistan lose at least two of their next 8 matches.

courtesy: tigercricket.com