If Sri Lankan team need direct entry into the ICC World Cup 2019, then they have to win at least 2 matches out of 4 remaining ODIs against India in their home series. But the recent form of Sri Lanka suggests that it will not be an easy task as they have lost Test series to India 3-0 and even the first ODI of the 5 match series was won by India quite comfortably. The cut-off date for direct qualification is September 30.
Sri Lanka is presently placed eighth with 88 points but have an additional 10 point over the West Indies, who have a huge task ahead to be part of the seven top-ranked sides apart from host England to gain direct qualification. If Sri Lanka Wins two matches it will take them to 90 points though West Indies could attain at best 88 points even if it wins its only ODI against Ireland on September 13 and all five matches of its series in England from September 19-29 which is a colossal task for them.
But, a 4-1 win for the team India will see Sri Lanka finish at 88 points and The West Indies could fractionally gain some decimal points if it wins all its upcoming six matches. The West Indies will go out of contention if it loses to Ireland as from there it will at best reach 86 points and remain behind Sri Lanka on decimal points, even if Sri Lanka loses 5-0 to India.
ODI Team Rankings
| TEAMS | RANKING | POINTS | MATCHES | RATING |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTH AFRICA | 1 | 5957 | 50 | 119 |
| AUSTRALIA | 2 | 5505 | 47 | 117 |
| INDIA | 3 | 4717 | 41 | 115 |
| ENGLAND | 4 | 5645 | 50 | 113 |
| NEW ZEALAND | 5 | 5123 | 46 | 111 |
| PAKISTAN | 6 | 3885 | 41 | 95 |
| BANGLADESH | 7 | 2905 | 31 | 94 |
| SRI LANKA | 8 | 4826 | 55 | 88 |
| WEST INDIES | 9 | 2824 | 36 | 78 |
| AFGANISTAN | 10 | 1618 | 30 | 54 |
| ZIMBABWE | 11 | 2129 | 41 | 52 |
| IRELAND | 12 | 1028 | 25 | 41 |
Circumstances
IND wins 5-0: India 117 points; SL 86 points.
IND wins 4-1: India 115 points, SL 88 points.
IND wins 3-2: India 113 points, SL 90 points.
SL wins 3-2: India 111 points, SL 91 points.
SL wins 4-1: India 109 points, SL 93 points.
SL wins 5-0: India 106 points, SL 94 points.
The 2018 ICC World Cup Qualifier will be a cricket tournament to decide the final qualification for the 2019 World Cup. The top two teams will qualify for the World Cup, joining the hosts and the 7 teams who will have already qualified through their ranking in the ICC ODI Championship
