Will home advantage define Tigers’ WC qualification bid?

Having already qualified for the 2028 ICC T20 World Cup despite not featuring in the ongoing edition, Bangladesh cricket team’s focus for the rest of the year will shift to 50-over assignments with the 2027 ODI World Cup qualification still on the line.

In the 14-team ODI World Cup, Full Member hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe and the eight highest ranked Full Members in the ICC ODI rankings as of March 31, 2027, will make up the 10 direct entrants. The remaining four spots will be decided through a qualifiers’ event.

South Africa are currently ranked fifth, and unlikely to slip below eighth, and Zimbabwe are 11th, well adrift of the top 10. So, Bangladesh, now lagging at 10th, must climb to ninth or higher before the deadline to secure direct berth.

The Tigers have 20 ODIs lined up till the cut-off and if India’s tour of Bangladesh in August happens, the number will rise to 23. The home series against Pakistan in March starts the run of key ODI assignments at home with New Zealand, Australia and India also in the agenda this year. There are also ODI series away against Ireland, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

In comparison, ninth placed West Indies, who are leading Bangladesh by one rating point, have 12 ODIs lined up in the same period till now.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Game Development Committee’s program coordinator Habibul Bashar feels that the Tigers can do more than the bare minimum in ODI rankings by banking on home advantage.

“Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, and India are all absolutely top-tier teams. However, since these are home series, we will definitely have the home advantage,” Bashar told The Daily Star.

“Our goal shouldn’t just be to stay at No.9 to barely qualify. If we play well in these four series, since wins against top teams carry more points, we can significantly improve our ranking and move up to the 6th or 7th position,” he added.

Bashar reflected that what opposition Bangladesh play will dictate what kind of wickets are used.

“We are not going to prepare seaming tracks against New Zealand and Australia, nor will we prepare turning tracks against India and Pakistan. Tailoring pitches to the opposition is a standard practice that everyone follows,” he said.

The Tigers had a rough time in ODIs in the last 15 months, having lost 12 and won only three in the period. Their last ODI series was against West Indies at home, which they won 2-1, but their batters visibly struggled.

“Our primary concern is our batting… Recently, our primary focus was heavily on the T20 format because of the consecutive World Cups. We tried to change our style of play for T20s, but our adaptations to those changes were not properly executed for ODIs,” he added.

Bashar also issued a warning that failing to get direct qualification and competing in a 10-team qualifiers event could prove really challenging.  

“Even a strong team like the West Indies failed to qualify for the World Cup through the qualifiers,” he recalled.