Pakistan World Cup participation in danger if slump continues

Pakistan plummet to all-time low number nine as ICC updates annual rankings

Former World Cup winners Pakistan have plunged to an all-time low number nine in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for ODIs.

The team standings were given the annual update yesterday, bringing the 1992 champions down to number nine after a largely barren 2015-16 run in the 50-overs format.



In order to ensure direct participation in the 2019 edition of the premier ODI tournament, Pakistan would need to finish among the top eight teams at the cut-off date — September 30, 2017 — for the event.

According to an ICC press release, hosts England and the next seven highest-ranked sides will qualify directly for cricket’s biggest event, while the bottom four ODI ranked sides will join the top sides from the 2015-17 ICC World Cricket League in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 to fight for the remaining two spots.

Pakistan would need to show significant improvement in the format if they are to avoid the embarrassment of appearing in the qualifiers.

The Men in Green only ensured their participation in next year’s ICC Champions Trophy after edging Sri Lanka 3-2 in a five-match series held last year, gaining just about enough points to confirm their berth at the expense of the West Indies.

Following the annual update, results from 2012-13 have been dropped, while results from 2014-15 have been reduced to a weighting of 50%.



World champions Australia are placed as the top ODI team in the world, followed by the finalists of the 2015 edition, New Zealand.

Seventh in ICC T20I rankings

The situation is only slightly better for Pakistan in the T20I format. After a series of poor results culminating in the first-round exit from the ICC World T20 last March, the 2009 World T20 champions have crashed to seventh place from the third position they held when the annual rankings were last updated.

New Zealand, the semi-finalists of this year’s premier T20I event, have stormed up the chart to claim number one position for the first time, while 2007 World T20 champions India are second.

West Indies, the current world champions in the instant format, are ranked the third best team.



Test ranking spares Pakistan’s blushes

The longest format of the game is where Pakistan have performed satisfactorily in recent years, as evidenced in the annual ICC Test Team Rankings that placed Pakistan at third behind India, with just one point separating the arch-rivals.

Australia lead the table with 118 points, with the annual update opening up a six-point advantage for the leaders over India.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2016.

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