Latest ICC men’s ODI team rankings: Bangladesh inch towards automatic World Cup qualification after historic 2-1 win vs Australia

Until the start of the three-match series, Bangladesh had beaten Australia only once in men’s ODIs – in 2005. Here, they created history by sealing the series after the first two games. With a six-wicket haul, Shoriful Islam pushed Australia in the third game as well – but the visitors squeezed home by one wicket.

The two wins propped Bangladesh’s rating to 87, two behind eighth-placed England (89) and well clear of tenth-placed West Indies (73). Finishing in the top nine is important, for that will guarantee automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup, to be played in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.

As hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe have qualified directly for the World Cup, while eight other teams will make it directly. Since South Africa is now at fourth place, it is very likely that the top nine teams in the ICC rankings as on March 31, 2027 will feature in the World Cup without having to go through the qualifiers.

As for Australia, the two defeats had resulted in them slipping to fourth place, but the win saw them replace South Africa at third. The two teams are now separated only by decimal points.