The much-awaited ODI World Cup is less than two months away with the opening match set to be played on October 5. All 10 teams that have qualified for the mega event are aiming to lift the trophy and soon, the squads will also be announced. Even though the focus has been on the T20 format over the last couple of years, teams are prioritising the 50-over format at least this year keeping the World Cup.
Accordingly, a lot of One-Day Internationals are set to be played in the lead up to the showpiece event. As far as India is concerned, they were recently involved in the ODI series against the West Indies and will next feature in the Asia Cup. The team will be playing two matches in the league stage and are expected to qualify for the Super Four stage. In the league stage, they will face arch-rivals Pakistan and Nepal and if they make it to Super Fours, they will play three more matches.
After the Asia Cup, the men in blue will lock horns against Australia closer to the World Cup in a three-match series. India will play a total of 8 ODIs before the World Cup and the total will go up to 9 if they qualify for the final of Asia Cup. Similarly, Pakistan are expected to make it Super Fours stage and they will play five ODIs in the Asia Cup while before the tournament, they are scheduled to face Afghanistan in Sri Lanka from August 22 to August 26 in three ODIs.
Australia too are certain to play 8 ODIs (5 vs South Africa and 3 against India) while New Zealand will face defending champions England (4 ODIs) and Bangladesh (3 ODIs) before the mega event. On the other hand, England will also lock horns against Ireland apart from their series against New Zealand. The Netherlands are the only team to not play a single ODI before the World Cup. However, they are set to reach India a month before the mega event and feature in a few practice matches.
Here's the schedule of each team before ODI World Cup:
New Zealand - 4 vs ENG, 3 vs BAN
England - 4 vs NZ, 3 vs IRE
South Africa - 5 vs AUS
Pakistan - 3 vs AFG, 6 (Asia Cup if qualify for Super Four and Final),
India - 6 (Asia Cup if qualify for Super Four and Final), 3 vs AUS
Australia - 5 vs SA, 3 vs IND
Sri Lanka - 5 (Asia Cup if qualify for Super Four and Final),
Afghanistan - 3 vs PAK, 6 (Asia Cup if qualify for Super Four and Final)
Bangladesh - 6 (Asia Cup if Qualify for Super Four and Final), 3 vs NZ
Netherlands - No matches
