ODI ranking: Tigers one notch up

With the latest ICC ODI Rankings, the cricket fraternity was left startled as Bangladesh jumped above Pakistan and claimed the eighth spot in the rankings, which saw Pakistan fall to ninth. This change bodes well for Bangladesh since this brightens their chances of playing in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.

The ICC applied their annual update to the rankings which meant results from 2011-12 were dropped while results from 2013-14 were reduced to a weighting of 50 per cent. As such, Bangladesh -- due to their impressive performances in the World Cup and their 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan in the recently concluded ODI series -- went to the number eight spot, just behind the West Indies, who are ahead only when the points are calculated beyond the decimal.

The cut-off for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 is on September 30th 2015, when the top eight ranked teams will secure qualification. Till that date Pakistan will play Zimbabwe in May, followed by a tour of Sri Lanka. Bangladesh will play ODI series' with India and South Africa, while West Indies have none scheduled, meaning Bangladesh may claim the seventh spot before the year is over.

Mashrafe Mortaza told the ESPNcricinfo that moving up the rankings was a priority for Bangladesh to make sure they remained in contention for direct entry into the next World Cup as well.

"See, in the dressing room we mostly talk about training, planning and the match, mostly," he said.

"But of course, whenever we were in a briefing, I would mention it and we discussed it in length. As a cricket nation, we have to progress in every format.

“We have to ensure we are going ahead in T20s and Tests but the ODIs too need attention. We will prepare properly for the T20 World Cup next year and we need constant attention to Tests but we have a target to stay within No. 8 to qualify for the 2019 World Cup. This is an important first step," Mashrafe said.