Bangladesh, one of the weakest teams of cricket, have played tremendously well in their recent series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe. They have improved their game and their ICC team rankings, jumping over West Indies to secure the eighth position.
Bangladesh won both their One Day International series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe. They swept the series against New Zealand, not letting the black caps win a single match of their five-match series and marking their first ODI series sweep.
Zimbabwe narrowly escaped a similar fate, winning only one of the four ODIs they played while touring Bangladesh.
The recent improvement in Bangladeshi cricket will be a great confidence booster for them ahead of the World Cup. Being co-hosts of the event, they will have the home field advantage on most of their matches. However, they will also have much more pressure than other teams, as their stadiums will be packed with their fans who will expect them to win all the matches again.
Their performance in the recent home series has made all other teams nervous, rising speculation that they can reach the semi-finals this year.
West Indies can be said to have actually helped Bangladesh improve their team ranking, as the Caribbean team has not won a single Test against Test capped nations since August 2008. They have also not won any match against Test-capped nations since July 2009. West Indies played their last Test series against Sri Lanka, which they lost 2-0.
West Indies, the team that won the first ever cricket World Cups, are passing through the worst time of their cricket history. The odds seem to be completely against them and their morale must be extremely low after losing to Sri Lanka recently.
Australia have retained their top slot in the ICC team rankings, securing it with a very convincing 6-1 win over England in their ODI series.
India, Sri Lanka and South Africa are on the second, third and fourth ranks. They have very little difference in their points and will definitely be looking forward to jumping to the top of the table by the end of the World Cup.
The World Cup’s inaugural match will be played between India and Bangladesh on February 19 at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
