The bilateral series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka cannot be taken lightly since this ODI series will have a direct effect on the ICC ODI Super League points table. Every match in this series carries equal importance. Bangladesh would be in a strong position in the ICC ODI Super League if the series is won 3-0. Even after winning the contest, Bangladeshi players would have to play more energetically in order to complete the series with a total of 30 points. The significance of Sri Lanka series for Bangladesh's 2023 World Cup Berth is discussed in this article.  Importance of the Sri Lanka series for Bangladesh Apart from the ICC One-Day International Super League, the Sri Lanka series is crucial for Bangladesh for a number of reasons, this includes the following: Tamim Iqbal should use the series to further his development as a captain and to assess the team's strength in order to build a strong squad for the next World Cup. The result of the series could help improve Bangladesh's position in the One-Day International format, and will give them a genuine chance to win an ODI series against Sri Lanka for the first time. The series will also be a litmus test for Coach Russell Domingo, who is currently dealing with a lot of pressure.  Bangladesh will have the opportunity to overtake each team in the ICC ODI CWC Super League points table and take the no.1 position. Team tigers' will be the CWC Super League's topside for the first time if they simply win the contest against the Lankans. Bangladesh can also close the gap with sixth-ranked Pakistan in the ICC One-Day International team rankings. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will enter into the CWC Super League points table if they win a match against Bangladesh. The Lankan national side will also narrow the gap with seventh-place Bangladesh in the ICC One-Day International team rankings. Read: Bangladesh and Sri Lanka all set to face off in an ODI Series Required points for Bangladesh ensure 2023 World Cup Each competing team will play a total of 8 series, both at home and abroad, with every series consisting of three matches. As a result, each team will play a total of 24 matches, giving them the opportunity to win a total of 240 points. Apart from host India, the top eight teams in the league will be guaranteed a place in the World Cup 2023. Many believe that if a team gets at least 150 points, they can easily make the top eight, but some believe that each team would require 170 points to qualify for the World Cup directly. If Bangladesh win the series 3-0 against Sri Lanka, they will have 60 points. In other words, Bangladesh will be guaranteed a place in the 2023 World Cup if they win 9/10 of the 15 matches in the next five series. Bangladesh have six scheduled matches against England and South Africa in the remaining ODI Super League series. On the other hand, nine matches will be played against Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe. The schedule indicates the significance of the series against Sri Lanka for Bangladesh.  Read: Babar, Boult, and Shakib Lead ICC ODI Player Rankings in May 2021 Top 8 teams of ICC ODI CWC Super League (as of May 22) Position Team Pld W L Pts 1 England 9 4 5 40 2 Pakistan 6 4 2 40 3 Australia 6 4 2 40 4 New Zealand 3 3 0 30 5 Afghanistan 3 3 0 30 6 Bangladesh 6 3 3 30 7 West Indies 6 3 3 30 8 India 6 3 3 29  Bottom Line The Sri Lanka series is important in order to build a strong position in the ICC ODI Super League for Bangladesh's 2023 World Cup Berth. Furthermore, winning this series would propel Bangladesh to the top of the ICC One-Day International Super League for the first time, which would be an amazing achievement. So, this contest between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka is crucially significant.  Read: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Five Memorable Match-Winning ODI Performances

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 Read Also: Bangladesh’s Greatest XI in Test cricket based only on Stats 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. Read Also: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Test 2021: The specific roles to perform by Bangladeshi players 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. Read Also: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Series 2021: First Test Player Ratings 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. Read Also: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Five Times When Bangladesh Stun Sri Lanka

Teams must finish in the top eight of the current ICC One-Day International Super League points table to be qualified for the 2023 World Cup. On the other hand, India will automatically qualify for the World Cup as the host nation. In that case, Bangladesh must ensure its place among the other seven nations in order to advance to the World Cup's main event. Each country will do its best to compete in the league. As a result, every ODI Super League match is crucial. This article has discussed how can Bangladesh directly qualify for the world cup 2023? The ICC ODI Super League format for direct qualification  Twelve Test playing nations: Bangladesh, England, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Ireland, tournament host India, and associate nation Netherlands are taking part in the ICC ODI super league. The top eight teams in the standings at the end of the league will automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup. For the final two slots, the remaining five teams will compete in another qualification round. Five additional teams from associate nations will also be part of that tournament. Also read: Bangladesh vs New Zealand ODI Series 2021: Bangladesh Team Report Card The ODI Super League tournament will finish at the end of 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of the tournament, each team will participate in eight bilateral series, four at home and four away. Every series consists of three one-day international matches, which means each team will play a total of 24 ODIs. Each match will be worth a total of ten points and the winning team will get all the points. In addition, all teams will be awarded 5 points if the tie/match is abandoned. If two or more teams have the same number of points, the net run rate will be used. If still equal, the better-ranked team will be placed higher as per the ICC's ODI rankings on July 1, 2020.     How Bangladesh can secure direct qualification in the World Cup 2023 Bangladesh’s ODI Super League fixture    Bangladesh are a strong one-day international team that can beat any team in the world on any given day. The opponent's capabilities should not be overlooked as every team will give their all in order to qualify for the World Cup 2023.   Home Series Windies (Jan, 2021) Bangladesh win (3-0) Sri Lanka (May, 2020) England (Oct, 2021 Afghanistan (Feb, 2022)   Away Series Ireland (postponed) to be confirmed  New Zealand (Feb, 2021) New Zealand win (3-0) Zimbabwe (June, 2021) South Africa (March, 2022)   Bangladesh’s main focus should be to score 150 points from the ODI super league in order to finish the top eight in the points table. Team tigers’ target should be to win the home series against the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and collect as many points as possible. They also have to secure the away series against Ireland and Zimbabwe. Read:  Mashrafe Mortaza drops a bombshell over his alleged T20 retirement in 2017 Bangladesh will definitely retain their current ODI rankings should they win these five ODI super league series.    Thankfully, Bangladesh already whitewashed the Windies at home and gained 30 valuable points. But team tigers’ failed to collect a point in New Zealand after losing all three matches against the Blackcaps.  Read: Key T20I Records between Bangladesh and New Zealand Bangladesh will finish inside the top eight in the ODI super league points table if they score at least 100 out of 120 points in the series against Sri Lanka, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan. ICC ODI Super League Points Table (As of March 30, 2021) Position Team Pld W L Pts NRR 1 England 9 4 5 40 0.468 2 Australia 6 4 2 40 0.347 3 New Zealand 3 3 0 30 2.352 4 Afghanistan 3 3 0 30 0.527 5 Bangladesh 6 3 3 30 -0.128 6 West Indies 6 3 3 30 -0.876 7 India (Q) 6 3 3 29 -0.252 8 Pakistan 3 2 1 20 0.741 Source: ESPNCricinfo  Bottom Line   Bangladesh need not be concerned about the ODI Super League's final outcome because they should comfortably finish in the top eight in the points table. Rather, BCB should concentrate on developing a Bangladesh ODI squad in preparation for the World Cup 2023.   Read Top Online Shops to Find Sports Equipment in Bangladesh