'Not a healthy competition'

The fact that the West Indies have confirmed taking part in a tri-series in Zimbabwe, which will also feature Pakistan, hasn't gone well with Bangladesh Cricket Board director Jalal Yunus.

Bangladesh are currently ranked seventh in ICC's ODI rankings with 93 points. The West Indies, on the other hand, are poised at number eight with 88 points while Pakistan have 87 points in ninth position.

The cut-off date for qualification for the 2017 Champions Trophy is September 30 and the top eight teams in rankings will go through. The three-nation series is likely to begin in August. While it's still uncertain whether the series will affect Bangladesh's chances of playing in the Champions Trophy at all, Yunus, during a press conference yesterday expressed his unhappiness over the latest series of events.

“I feel the FTP that the ICC had in place before was much better. Ever since the FTP has started depending on bilateral agreements, the system has gone bad. It has created a

lot of loopholes. I don't support this. This not a healthy competition,” said Yunus.

Before West Indies confirmed their participation in the tri-series, they had no other ODIs scheduled before September. As a result, when Bangladesh beat India at home earlier this month, it was assumed that the hosts had confirmed their spot for the Champions Trophy.

"We don't have much to do about this. There is no ICC FTP these days so it is not in their hands or ours. We also have a chance if we can do well against South Africa," Yunus said.

"There isn't much time and other teams are busy too. We will finish the South Africa series in August and Australia will come in September. There's not much chance of a new series,” Yunus added.