DHAKA: Bangladesh will return to the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time since 2006 after the eight sides were confirmed for the 2017 tournament, which will be hosted by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) from June 1 to 18.

Bangladesh has replaced the West Indies, which finished outside the top eight in ninth position, in the ICC ODI Team Rankings on the 30 September 2015 cut-off date.

The eight sides to play in the short and sharp, nation-versus-nation ICC Champions Trophy 2017 are (in rankings order): world champion Australia, title holder India, 1998 winner South Africa, 2000 champion New Zealand, 2002 co-winner Sri Lanka, host England, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Bangladesh’s last participation in the ICC Champions Trophy was in India, when it featured in the qualifying round. It lost to Sri Lanka (by 37 runs) and the West Indies (by 10 wickets). Its only victory was against Zimbabwe by 101 runs.

Since the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Bangladesh cricket has been on a high and has produced very strong performances. It won ODI series against Pakistan, India and South Africa, which has helped it jump from ninth to seventh in the ICC ODI Team Rankings.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will be a 15-match tournament, with teams split into two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals. The groups and the schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy will be announced later.

The next important qualification date in the diaries of the 12 teams on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will be 30 September 2017.

That is the date when the top eight ranked sides on the ICC ODI Team Rankings will earn direct qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be hosted by the ECB.

The bottom four sides will get a second chance to complete the 10-team line-up in the ICC Cricket World Cup when they will be joined by teams from the ICC World Cricket League Championship and the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018.

As such, all bilateral ODI cricket in the lead up to 30 September 2017, including the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, will now have greater importance as only 27 points separate second-ranked India from ninth-ranked West Indies.

ICC ODI Team Rankings (as on 30 September 2015, top eight sides have qualified for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017):

 Rank   Team             Points

1          Australia         127
2          India              115
3          South Africa    110
4          New Zealand   109
5          Sri Lanka        103
6          England          100
7          Bangladesh       96
8          Pakistan           90
9          West Indies      88
10        Ireland             49
11        Zimbabwe         45
12        Afghanistan       41

Source: icc-cricket.com

BDST: 1715 HRS, SEP 30, 2015
SR