Pakistan in danger of not qualifying for the ICC World Cup in 2019
What’s the story?
The Pakistan Cricket team, who are currently ranked 8th in the latest ICC rankings will have their task cut out over the next year or so as they might be in danger of not qualifying for the ICC World Cup which is to be held in England in 2019.
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Coming off a 4-1 defeat to the Australian cricket team, the Pakistanis are currently at 8th on the table with 89 points, which is two behind Bangladesh and 3 ahead of West Indies.
"Pakistan could not improve its points' position in a bid to qualify directly for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, even as there was little movement in the team rankings," an ICC statement said.
In case you didn’t know...
Much to the surprise of fans around the world, the ICC had decided to cut down on the number of teams for the 2019 World Cup. In the new format which is going to be implemented in 2019, only 10 teams would take part in the tournament.
Out of the 10, England, who are the hosts, and the top 7 ranked teams would get a direct entry into the tournament, while the other two or three teams and the associate nations would have to battle it out in the ICC world cup qualifiers which will be held in Bangladesh next year.
The heart of the matter
The Pakistan cricket team are going through a major slump as they have not won a series since their success against West Indies in October. Since then, they lost two Tests against New Zealand in New Zealand after which they got whitewashed by Australia as well.
They had something to cheer about when they won the 2nd ODI against the Kangaroos but lost their way once again when they lost the 3 ODIs after that to lose the 5 match series 4-1.
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | Australia | 120 |
| 2 | South Africa | 116 |
| 3 | India | 112 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 111 |
| 5 | England | 107 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 101 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 91 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 89 |
| 9 | West Indies | 86 |
| 10 | Afghanistan | 52 |
What’s next?
The Pakistanis are set to face Bangladesh in UAE in February for two Tests, three ODIs, and one T20I after which they will travel to West Indies for two Tests, three ODIs and two T20Is. They will then participate in the all-important ICC Champions Trophy which will take place in England from June 1-18.
Sportskeeda’s take
It will be extremely surprising if Pakistan fails to qualify for the World Cup, but with their recent dip in form, anything could happen. They will surely have to pull up their socks in the upcoming months if they want to improve on their dismal ranking and avoid the qualifying tournament.