Three weeks after the Test series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka ends, the ODI series between the two teams will begin. The schedule for this three-match One-Day International series has been released, and BCB has already announced their preliminary squad. All the matches will take place at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh have a chance to finish first in the current ICC Cricket World Cup Super League points table if they win this series. But in that case, Bangladesh have to do something extraordinary in this series. This article discusses, how Bangladesh Can Rank Top in ICC ODI Super League?
How Bangladesh can reach top of ICC ODI Super League
The 3-match ODI series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will begin on May 23. The rest of the two matches will be played on May 25 and May 27 respectively.
|
Match |
Venue |
Time (Bangladesh Standard Time) |
|
1st ODI |
SBNCS, Mirpur |
9 AM |
|
2nd ODI |
SBNCS, Mirpur |
9 AM |
|
3rd ODI |
SBNCS, Mirpur |
9 AM |
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After losing the Test series by a 1-0 margin against the host Sri Lanka, Bangladesh have a chance to take avengewhen the Lankans ODI side visits Bangladesh this May to play a 3-match limited over series.
Bangladesh will focus entirely on the One-Day International series against Sri Lanka. In fact, Bangladesh will have a chance to leapfrog every team in the ICC ODI World Cup Super League points table and take the top spot. The Tigers can also narrow the gap with Pakistan, which is ranked sixth in the ICC ODI rankings.
If Bangladesh completes a 3-0 clean sweep over Sri Lanka, the team Tigers' will occupy the top spot of the CWC Super League. Thus, the Tamim Iqbal-led team will have a golden opportunity to climb to the top of the ICC CWC ODI Super League points table.
Meanwhile, if Sri Lanka wins by the same 3-0 margin against Bangladesh, then they will open their account in the Super League as well as move into the top eight in the points table. The Sri Lankan team will also close the gap with Bangladesh in the ICC One-Day International rankings.
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Bangladesh fell to sixth place in the CWC Super League after losing the New Zealand series 3-0. Bangladesh came close to defeating New Zealand in the second One-Day International but ultimately fell short. They would have advanced into the top three positions in the current standings if they had won a game in New Zealand.
However, it is a fact that the Bangladesh team will not have a smooth task ahead of them, as Sri Lanka is still a competitive ODI side. But their recent ODI record is poor. Sri Lanka's last limited-overs series against the Windies ended in a 3-0 loss. In that case, they will undoubtedly be anxious heading into the Bangladesh series.
On the other side, Bangladesh are in excellent form in the One-Day International format. They thrashed the Windies in their last one-day international series at home. Besides that, two main players of Bangladesh, all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman will be available for the series. They were unable to play the Test series against the Lankans due to their involvement in the ongoing IPL.
The series will feature a full-strength Bangladesh team.For that reason, Bangladesh will be the favorite to win the contest and the hosts can even hand a 3-0 clean sweep to Sri Lanka in the three-match ODI series.
The BCB has named a preliminary squad of 23 players for the Sri Lanka series, and the players who didn't take part in the Test series have already begun training in Mirpur.
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Bangladesh's preliminary squad for the Sri Lanka series
Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Naim, ImrulKayes, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, MahediHasan, MehidyHasanMiraz, Taijul Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Shohidul Islam.
Verdict
Bangladesh Can Rank Top in ICC ODI Super League for the first time if they can whitewash Sri Lanka in the ODI series. But Bangladesh must first focus on winning the series against Sri Lanka in order to improve their place in the ICC Super League for the direct 2023 World Cup berth. In addition, Bangladesh need to treat every Super League match equally because each is worth ten points.
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