How’s that?

Sri Lanka men’s team with the Asia Cup 202

Commonwealth Games qualifier 2022 Winner Sri Lanka women’s team

• Men have to qualify, women gain automatic qualification
• ICC Men’s, Women’s T20 World Cup

 By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

The Women›s T20 World Cup Qualifier is currently on in Abu Dhabi where the top two teams taking part in the eight-team event will qualify for the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.

If anyone thought that Sri Lanka would be among the teams in the Qualifier, they are wrong. Unlike the men, our women have gained automatic qualification to the T20 World Cup on the basis of their rankings. 

Sri Lanka are currently ranked eighth, which enables them for automatic qualification along with hosts South Africa, Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and West Indies.

The flip side is that the standard of our women cricketers is not in the same league as our men, but still they have gained automatic qualification, while our men cricketers who were early this month crowned the new kings of Asia, have to go through a qualifying round to play in next month’s ICC T20 World Cup Super12 in Australia, having to play countries like Namibia, UAE and the Netherlands.

Sri Lanka men failed to gain automatic qualification because they were unsuccessful in reaching the Super12 of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held in the UAE and their rankings as of 15 November 2021.

The eight teams participating in the Women’s T20 WC Qualifier in Abu Dhabi are Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland and USA in Group A and Thailand, Zimbabwe, PNG and UAE in Group B. The top two teams in each group will go through to the semi-finals, with the winners of each semi-final progressing to the final and next year›s World Cup.

How cruel can rankings be?

Lanka make three changes for Women’s T20 Asia Cup