By Muhammad Asif Khan
Karachi: After every cricket series the points table fluctuates and teams change positions in view of the performance. A lower ranked team gain more points after beating an outfit at the higher pedestal and in the process, teams relegate and lose a chance to directly qualify for mega events like World Cup and Champions Trophy. A former Pakistan captain and an now cricket analyst, Rashid Latif however doesn’t like the method being followed in the process. He is of the opinion that the ICC should also consider the venue of contest – home or away – while awarding points to competing teams. “In my opinion, there is a flaw in the existing ranking system. The ICC must introduce the concept of evaluating home and away results differently to make the procedure more worthwhile”, Latif said
“For instance, Pakistan will get the same number of points after beating Australia in Dubai or in Melbourne. This doesn’t make sense to me. A team should be awarded more points upon winning on opponent’s turf”, Latif opined
In the current ODI ranking, Pakistan are on the 9th slot while West Indies on the 8th and both face the danger of losing the direct qualification to the World Cup scheduled in 2019.
West Indies have already lost the birth in the next year’s Champions Trophy after failing to finish amongst the top eight teams, in ICC rankings, by the cut-off date.
The World Cup 2019 will feature 10 teams, a decrease from the events in 2011 and 2015 which accommodated 14 outfits. The hosts England, and the other top seven teams in the ODI rankings, by September 30, 2017, will earn automatic qualification. The remaining two slots will be decided through qualifiers in 2018.
The former wicket-keeper batsman urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ‘fix’ the existing rankings system, otherwise, he thinks, it will have adverse effects on game’s development and expansion.
Latif also calls on the ICC to focus on the existing test playing countries before reaching out to other areas. “Total 10 countries are playing Test cricket but the ICC, instead of supporting the hard-pressed nations, investing money in other less-passionate countries. That’s not an appropriate practice”, Latif maintained
“Countries like Zimbabwe and Pakistan were left high and dry in the time of need, that’s not fair on the part of the governing body”, Latif concluded