Shakib Al Hasan, the No. 1 rated all-rounder in white-ball cricket, continues to get praise after becoming the first Bangladesh player to take 300 ODI wickets on Monday. Shakib reached the milestone following his performance as Player of the Match in Bangladesh’s 50-run triumph against England at Chattogram. The left-handed batsman contributed effectively with both bat and ball.
The 35-year-old top-scored for Bangladesh with a brilliant 75 before bowling his team to victory with 4/35 from 10 overs. Shakib’s last victim was England teenager, Rehan Ahmed, ensuring that the veteran left-armer became the fourteenth player in the history of Men’s ODI cricket to have taken 300 wickets in 50-over cricket.
Shakib joins the brilliant Bangladesh performance
Yet despite losing the three-match ODI series against England 2-1, Bangladesh has already accumulated enough points in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League to guarantee their participation in the 50-over showcase that will be staged in India later this year.
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Bangladesh surpassed Pakistan and climbed to fourth in the current Super League rankings, with the top eight teams qualifying directly for the Cricket World Cup at the conclusion of the season. England is atop the rankings and is well-positioned to retain the championship they won at the last World Cup in 2019, while New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, and Afghanistan have all qualified for the competition.
Four clubs are still in contention to qualify straight from the Super League, therefore it remains to be seen who will join the aforementioned seven teams and grab the eighth and final berth. The West Indies are now in seventh position with 88 Super League points, but they have played all 24 of their matches and need a miracle to be in contention.
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Ninth-placed South Africa (78 points), tenth-placed Sri Lanka (77), and eleventh-placed Ireland (68) are all hot on their heels and have matches remaining to overtake the West Indies for the last automatic qualifying position.
South Africa has two matches remaining in a critical home series against the Netherlands, while Sri Lanka will play a three-match ODI series against the Black Caps in New Zealand this month. Later in the year, a rescheduled series against Bangladesh will determine Ireland’s chances of qualifying automatically.
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