The 2023 ODI World Cup is scheduled to take place in India in October. The tournament will be the 12th edition and it will be the first time that India will solely host the entire tournament on their soil. Just like the last edition, it will have a total of ten teams facing each other to become the World Champions.
Eight teams, including the hosts India, have qualified directly as per the rankings and points in the Super League, while two teams will qualify on the basis of their performance in the ongoing World Cup Qualifier 2023 in Zimbabwe. The ICC CWC kicked off on June 18.
Ten teams are playing in this tournament and are divided into two groups of five each. The top three teams will make it to Super 6, where they will play three games against the three qualifying teams from the other groups. The top two teams from Super 6 will play in the final and will also get tickets to India for the World Cup, making it a ten-team affair.
The two-time champion West Indies are also part of the ongoing Qualifiers in Zimbabwe. They are placed in Group A along with Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Nepal, and the United States. Though the West Indies started the competition with wins over Nepal and the USA, they suffered a 35-run loss against Zimbabwe on Sunday, which somehow dented their chances for the World Cup in India.
Path of 2023 ODI World Cup in India gets tricky after West Indies lost to Zimbabwe
Notably, after winning the first two games, the West Indies have already made it to the Super Six, where they will face Sri Lanka, Scotland, and Oman in three matches. But their loss against Zimbabwe has made things complicated for them. The West Indies need to win their last game against the Netherlands on Monday.
If they do so, they will carry two points into the Super Six after finishing second in their group. On the other hand, Zimbabwe will take four points to the next round, as will Sri Lanka, if they beat the USA on Monday. But if the Caribbean team loses to the Netherlands, they will have to win all three games in the Super Six and also hope that Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka win only one game out of three, which looks a bit tricky.
That is how the West Indies will be able to make it to the next round. Now, their game against Sri Lanka becomes more crucial, if West Indies can win all three games (also wins against the Netherlands), then they will have a total of 8 points. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, who are at the top of their respective groups, will enter with four points in the Super Six.
If any or both of them win all their Super Six games, then these teams will play in the final and go to India for the World Cup. But if both or any of these lose one match in the next round, then the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe will be at 8 points, and then the NRR will come into play. Thus, for the West Indies to qualify for the World Cup, they will have to win all of their remaining games by a big margin and hope either Sri Lanka or Zimbabwe lose one match in the next round.
