QUALIFIER: ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup
by Shazeen Ifamy
The warm-up matches are done, the preparations done, and now on the 19th of June 2023, Sri Lanka kick start their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier by taking on the United Arab Emirates followed by Oman on the 23rd of June 2023, Ireland on the 25th of June 2023, and Scotland on 27th June 2023. With that said, Sri Lanka’s first goal will be to win as many games among the above as possible and finish in the top three of their group in order to progress to the super six in which Sri Lanka could play three more matches with either Nepal, Netherlands, United States of America, West Indies, and Zimbabwe. As a result, if Sri Lanka makes the super six, their goal then becomes to finish in the top two of the super six and enter the final, securing their spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India later this year as the two teams that make the final will secure their qualification to the World Cup. Now that we know what Sri Lanka has to do to qualify for the World Cup, let’s preview the event!
To begin with, let’s answer the what, where, why, who, when, and how questions for this event:
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What: This event is the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier
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Where: The event will be held in Zimbabwe
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Wh0: This event will feature 10 (ten) cricket teams in Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland, The United Arab Emirates, The United States of America, Oman, Nepal, and the Netherlands
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Why: The teams above are playing the qualifier because they failed to finish in the top eight of the ICC World Cup Super League to secure direct qualification to the World Cup hence have to play the qualifier in an attempt to qualify for the World Cup and grab the two remaining spots left for the 10 team World Cup.
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When: The event starts today, the 18th of June 2023 and Sri Lanka’s first match starts on the 19th of June 2023.
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How: The qualifier will be played under the 50-over format of cricket, the 10 teams are split into two groups where they’ll play each of the teams in their group once and afterwards the top three teams of each group will qualify for the Super Six where they’ll play three matches against the top three teams from the other group. The two teams that finish in the top two of the super six will enter the finals and will both qualify for the World Cup.
Now that we’ve answered the basic questions about the event, let’s take a look at Sri Lanka’s squad. With that said, Sri Lanka has named a strong 15-man squad for the qualifier featuring senior players such as Dimuth Karunaratne and young players such as Matheesha Pathirana.
Below is the full Sri Lankan squad:
Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis (vc & wk), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Dushan Hemantha
With the squad named, let’s look at and take a small preview of Sri Lanka’s games. The matches against Ireland and Scotland will be Sri Lanka’s toughest matches within the group but they surely won’t take the United Arab Emirates and Oman lightly. Moreover, if Sri Lanka makes the super six, there is a high chance they’ll meet Zimbabwe and West Indies which marks another two tough matches for Sri Lanka.
Overall, the qualifier is going to be an interesting event as 10 cricket teams are going to engage themselves in a battle to secure their spot in the World Cup. As a result, we can expect some thrilling matches and possibly some upsets as well. With that said, Sri Lanka will look to play their best brand of cricket and qualify for the World Cup.
So what do you think? Can Sri Lanka qualify for the World Cup?
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