Tigers' difficult road to the 2023 World Cup
Following the conclusion of the thrilling 2019 World Cup final between England and New Zealand just last month, the road to qualification for the 2023 World Cup in India began on Wednesday with the launch of the inaugural tri-series of the Cricket World Cup league 2 in Scotland.
Just as in 2019, 10 teams will participate in the 2023 World Cup but for the first time, rankings table will not be used for qualification as the ODI Super League comes to the fore. The top 7 sides in the ODI Super League plus India, qualify directly to the World Cup and the bottom-placed five teams will play the World Cup qualifier in 2022.
Cricket World Cup ODI Super League
Teams: 12 Full Members + Netherlands
Matches: 24 ODIs per team starting in May 2020
All of the 12 full members and Netherlands will play the ODI Super League and play an equal number of matches (24) from May 2020 to qualify for the World Cup. Each of the 13 teams will host four home and four away series, each consisting of three ODIs, that will count toward World Cup qualification.
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams: Scotland, UAE, Nepal, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea, USA
Matches: 36 ODIs per team starting in August 2019
The teams ranked 14-20 will play in the redesigned Cricket World Cup league 2 which began with the match between Oman and Papua New Guinea on Wednesday (August 14). The league consists of a total of nine tri-series with each team hosting the each and every other country in League Two for two ODIs and touring those countries for two ODIs to play in 24 ODIs. The rest of the 12 matches each of these teams will play in, will take place in neutral venues.
The top three go to the World Cup qualifiers while the bottom four will play in Cricket World Cup qualifier playoff.
Cricket World Cup Challenge League A and B
Teams: League A: Canada, Denmark, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Vanuatu; League B: Bermuda, Hong Kong, Italy, Jersey, Kenya, Uganda
Matches: 15 List A per team starting in September 2019
The teams (ranked 21st to 32nd in the World Cricket League) will have to top their league to make it through to the World Cup qualifier playoff where they will play against the bottom four of the Cricket World Cup League 2.
2022 CWC Qualifier Playoff
Teams: Bottom five teams from ODI Super League + top three teams from CWC League Two + top two teams from CWC Playoff.
All the matches will have ODI status with top two teams in this six-team single round-robin event going through to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
2022 CWC Qualifier
Teams: Bottom five teams from ODI Super League + top three teams from CWC League Two + top two teams from CWC Playoff
While it has not yet been decided how the teams will play in the World Cup Qualifier, the top two teams from these 10-team qualifiers will go through to the 2023 World Cup.
Bangladesh's difficult road for qualification
Bangladesh will not be facing the likes of India, Pakistan, Australia and the Netherlands but they will have to face the likes of New Zealand, and South Africa away while also facing Sri Lanka, West Indies and current World Champions England at home.
The Tigers will be playing four home and four away ODI series to qualify with three ODIs from each series to be attached to the ODI Super League and the qualification to the World Cup. All the ODI series Bangladesh will play from May 1 in 2020 till March 31 of 2022 -- the span of the ODI Super League -- are three-match ODI series.
To ensure hassle-free qualification for the World Cup so as not to play in the 2022 World Cup Qualifier, the Tigers will have to ensure top eight finish in the 13-team league. With a greater degree of emphasis and meaning now attached to all upcoming ODI series both home and away, The Tigers have a long and arduous road in front of them in order to qualify for the World Cup in India.
Bangladesh's series that will be part of the ODI Super League
Ireland (Away) 3 ODIs in May 2020
Sri Lanka (Home) 3 ODIs in December 2020
West Indies (Home) 3 ODIs in Jan 2021
New Zealand (Away) 3 ODIs in Feb-March 2021
Zimbabwe (Away) 3 ODI in June-July 2021
England (Home) 3 ODIs in October 2021
Afghanistan (Home) 3 ODIs in Feb-March 2022
South Africa (Away) 3 ODIs in March 2022
(Source: Reporting done with the help of information from ESPNCricinfo)
Comments