Rashid Khan
19-year-old Rashid Khan (C) will lead Afghanistan in the upcoming ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018.RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images

Ten teams, including two-time champion West Indies, will take part in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, which will be held in Zimbabwe between March 4 and 25. Two spots for next year's 10-team showpiece event are up for grabs in the upcoming tournament.

Hosts England along with seven other top-ranked ODI teams earned a direct qualification for World Cup 2019.

On the other hand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland, who are ranked between eight and 12 made it to the qualifying event on the basis of their positions on the ICC ODI rankings.

Netherlands, Scotland, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea (teams who finished on top four spots at ICC World Cricket League Champions 2015/17) along with the United Arab Emirates and Nepal (finalists of World Cricket League Division 2) will be featuring in the 10-team qualifying event.

Tournament format

The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each -- A and B.

Group A Group B
Ireland Afghanistan
Netherlands Hong Kong
Papua New Guinea (PNG) Nepal
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Zimbabwe
West Indies Scotland

Top three teams from each group at the end of single-legged round robin group-stage will qualify for Super Six round, from which the top two teams will qualify for the final that will be held at the Harare Sports Club on March 25.

Each team will get two points for a win, one for a draw or No Result. If teams are tied on points at the end of group stages, Net Run Rate will come in to play to determine the placings.

Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle's presence should boost the West Indies' confidence in the upcoming qualifying campaign.Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images

Venues

  • Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
  • Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
  • Harare Sports Club, Harare
  • Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
  • Kwekwe Sports Club, Kwekwe

Full schedule of ICC World Cup Qualifier

Match Date Time Venue
PNG vs UAE Sunday, March 4 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Ireland vs Netherlands Sunday, March 4 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Zimbabwe vs Nepal Sunday, March 4 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Afghanistan vs Scotland Sunday, March 4' 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
PNG vs Ireland Tuesday, March 6 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
West Indies vs UAE Tuesday, March 6 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan Tuesday, March 6 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Scotland vs Hong Kong Tuesday, March 6 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
Netherlands vs UAE Thursday, March 8 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
West Indies vs PNG Thursday, March 8 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Scotland vs Nepal Thursday, March 8 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Thursday, March 8 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
West Indies vs Ireland Saturday, March 10 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
PNG vs Netherlands Saturday, March 10 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
ZImbabwe vs Hong Kong Saturday, March 10 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Afghanistan vs Nepal Saturday, March 10 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
West Indies vs Netherlands Monday, March 12 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Ireland vs UAE Monday, March 12 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Hong Kong vs Nepal Monday, March 12 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Zimbabwe vs Scotland Monday, March 12 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Bulawayo Athletic Club, Bulawayo
Super Six Match 1 Thursday, March 5 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 1 Thursday, March 15 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Play-off Thursday, March 15 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Play-off Thursday, March 15 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Kwekwe Sports Club, Kweke
Super Six Match 3 Friday, March 16 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
7th place play-off Saturday, March 17 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Kwekwe Sports Club, Kweke
9th place play-off Saturday, March 17 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 4 Sunday, March 18 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 5 Monday, March 19 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 6 Tuesday, March 20 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 7 Thursday, March 22 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 8 Thursday, March 22 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare
Super Six Match 9 Friday, March 23 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Old Hararians Sports Club, Harare
Final Sunday, March 25 7:30am GMT, 9:30am local, 1pm IST Harare Sports Club, Harare

Complete squads - World Cup Qualifier 2018

AFGHANISTAN: Asghar Stanikzai (captain), Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Ihsanullah Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Nasir Jamal, Javed Ahmadi, Mujeeb Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari, Shahpoor Zadran and Sharafuddin Ashraf. Phil Simmons (coach)

HONG KONG: Babar Hayat (captain), Ahsan Abbasi, Nadeem Ahmed, Tanveer Ahmed, Tanwir Afzal, Waqas Barkat, Chris Carter, Aizaz Khan, Ehsan Khan, Ehsan Nawaz, Nizakat Khan, Scott McKechnie, Anshuman Rath, Simandeep Singh and Shahid Wasif. Simon Cook (coach)

IRELAND: William Porterfield (captain), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling and Gary Wilson

NETHERLANDS: Peter Borren (captain), Wesley Barresi, Ben Cooper, Scott Edwards, Vivian Kingma, Frederick Klaassen, Bas de Leede, Maxwell O'Dowd, Pieter Seelaar, Shane Snater, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Paul van Meekeren and Sikander Zulfiqar. Ryan Campbell (coach)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Assadollah Vala (captain), Charles Amini, Sese Bau, Mahuru Dai, Kiplin Doriga, Jason Kila, Vani Morea, Alei Nao, Damien Ravu, John Reva, Lega Siaka, Chad Soper, Tony Ura, Norman Vanua and Jack Vare. Joe Dawes (coach)

SCOTLAND: Kyle Coetzer (captain), Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ali Evans, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Tom Sole, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Brad Wheal and Stuart Whittingham. Grant Bradburn (coach)

WEST INDIES: Jason Holder (captain), Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels and Kesrick Williams. Stuart Law (coach)

ZIMBABWE: Graeme Cremer (captain), Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Tarisai Musakanda, Blessing Muzarabani, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller. Heath Streak (coach)

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Qadeer Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammad Boota, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Adnan Mufti, Mohammad Naveed, Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Chirag Suri, Muhammad Usman

NEPAL: Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Shakti Gauchan, Basant Regmi, Sharad Vesawkar, Sompal Kami, KC Karan, Aarif Sheikh, Sandeep Lamichhane, Dipendra Singh Airee, Dilip Nath, Lalit Bhandari, Anil Sah, Rohit Kumar, Lalit Rajbanshi