The Pakistan cricket team, led by Babar Azam, has secured the fifth position in the latest International Cricket Council’s (ICC) World Cup Super League rankings.
New Zealand has secured the top position with 175 points and was declared the champion, followed by England and Bangladesh with 155 points, and India with 139 points. The Pakistan team achieved fifth place with 130 points, playing 21 games and winning 14, losing seven in the home and away series so far.
The Pakistan team began the championship with a series win over Zimbabwe, where it won two of the three matches during the home series against Zimbabwe back in 2020. In 2021, the team also beat South Africa by 2-1 after winning two out of three matches in the series. Later in 2021, it lost the series to England with a score of 3-0.
In 2022, the team won a historic ODI series against Australia by 2-1, winning the first two matches against the Australians who played in Pakistan after 22 years. Afterward, Pakistan went on to beat West Indies and the Netherlands by 3-0 each. However, the team lost the three-match ODI series against New Zealand in January 2023.
The top-ranked eight teams, namely New Zealand, England, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa, have qualified for the upcoming World Cup, scheduled to begin in India from October-November this year.
Meanwhile, the remaining five teams, namely West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands, will play the qualifiers in Zimbabwe. The teams from Nepal, Oman, Scotland, USA, and UAE will accompany the bottom teams in the qualifiers beginning June 18.
What is the World Cup Super League?
The World Cup Super League is a brand new ODI competition that takes place over two years to raise the stakes of bilateral 50-over games. In its inaugural edition, the Super League determines which teams will participate in the World Cup 2023 in India.