Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are two of the top teams in Asian cricket right now. Both teams have defeated the top cricketing nations. However, neither Sri Lanka nor Bangladesh could qualify directly for the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman.
Many fans would know by now that the International Cricket Council has declared the draw for ICC T20 World Cup 2021. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and New Zealand are in Group 2 of the Super 12 stage. Meanwhile, Group 1 features South Africa, England, Australia and the West Indies.
Before the Super 12 gets underway, there will be a qualifying stage. Eight teams, namely Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will play in this round. There are two groups of four teams each and top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 12.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have achieved more success than Afghanistan in all formats of cricket. Still, Afghanistan earned a direct ticket, while the other two Asian sides will play the qualifying round. Here’s the reason behind it.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh could not meet criteria for direct qualification of Super 12 in ICC T20 World Cup 2021
India was the first team to qualify for ICC T20 World Cup 2021, being the hosts. The top nine teams on the ICC T20I Rankings as on December 31, 2018 joined them. From them, the top eight qualified for the Super 12 automatically. The last two ranked teams were Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
As a result, ICC placed former T20 World Cup winners Sri Lanka and former Asia Cup runners-up Bangladesh in the qualifying stage of the ICC T20 World Cup. The competition in the qualifying stage seems easy for both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be interesting to see if both teams can top their respective groups in the qualifying stage.
