The scenario for Sri Lanka and West Indies to directly qualify for the 2019 World Cup

The ICC ODI rankings were updated after India defeated the West Indies 3-1 in the five-match series and Zimbabwe outplayed Sri Lanka by 3-2. Zimbabwe’s win over Sri Lanka means the West Indies now have a chance to directly qualify for the World Cup 2019 since the points gap between West Indies and Sri Lanka has been narrowed to 10 points in the ODI rankings. 30 September 2017 is the last date for direct qualification for the World Cup 2019.

Sri Lanka should have beaten Zimbabwe by a 4-1 margin to secure a place in the mega event but that did not happen. The Zimbabwean team’s win means West Indies, who could not qualify for the Champions Trophy 2017, are back in contention for a direct place in the coveted tournament. Meanwhile, following the series debacle against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews resigned from his post at the helm of the team.

According to the current Future Tours Programme, the Sri Lankan team stands a second chance to qualify directly when it hosts India for a five-ODI series in August. As per the scenario, if Sri Lanka wins two or more matches in this series, they will directly qualify for the World Cup, irrespective of how West Indies play against England. But if India beat Sri Lanka in all the games, then the Windies may qualify directly without having to play in next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

Both the teams have underperformed in ODIs

If India beat Sri Lanka by 4-1, then the West Indies need to win all five matches against England. But, if Sri Lanka loses all five ODIs against India, the Jamaicans will have to beat England by a 4-0 margin. These permutations make both the upcoming ODI series’ very interesting. For now, both the island teams are not performing well in limited-overs cricket and will have to put up a different and fresh brand of cricket against India and England respectively.