For the first time in cricket World Cup history, the once-great team from the Caribbean will be missing in action.
West Indies, the champions of the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979, and whose bowlers once sent a shiver down the spine of any batsman, is at its lowest ebb -- ranked below teams like Afghanistan and Bangladesh. From being world beaters, the West Indies team was defeated by minnows like Zimbabwe, The Netherlands and Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers to shatter their dreams.
Not seeing the famous maroon jersey and some calypso music on Indian grounds this year is definitely hard to digest not just for West Indian fans but cricket lovers, like me, as a whole. But it is not something shocking as the standards have been on decline over the years.
In fact, they have failed to reach the finals of the multi-nation tournament since Clive Lloyd's men were defeated by the Kapil Dev-led Indian team in 1983. Since then, their best performance in ODI World Cups were in 2011 and 2015, where they finished as quarter finalists.
While they won two T20 World Cup titles in 2012 and 2016, the team's group stage exit from last year's tournament signalled a complete collapse in all three formats of the game.
Legend Gordon Greenidge was quoted as saying: "Earlier a West Indies defeat used to hurt a lot but now it doesn't that much as our standards have fallen over the years.
“But yes, a World Cup without the West Indies is quite unimaginable. We have no more depth to hit."
A team that had nine to 10 fast bowlers in the stable in the 1980s, intimidating batsmen with 150 kmph thunderbolts, now struggles to find three quality pacers in their line-up. And, in the same breath, the batting also had the blend of grace and force that was witnessed in the stroke play of Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Greenidge and Brian Lara.
Between 1975 and 1987, West Indies was the most feared cricket team in the world and won 74 per cent of the ODI matches it played. However, since 2000, they have won just 38 per cent of their games.
Former fast bowler, Joel Garner, said: "We definitely are not what we once were. There used to be a lot of pride in playing for the West Indies, but now, the young players are getting more attracted to T20 leagues. You can’t blame them as they look to secure their futures."
Today, players – a lot of who do not come from economically privileged backgrounds - can earn much more by playing T20 competitions around the world. An ICC World Cup without the West Indies may well be a something you just have to get used to!
That aside, here’s the squad line-ups for this year’s tournament:
Afghanistan - Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
Australia - Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
*Australia made one change from their provisional squad with batter Marnus Labuschagne replacing spinner Ashton Agar on 28 September.
Bangladesh - Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehedi Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Tanzim Hasan, Tanzid Hasan, Mahmudullah
England - Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
*England made one change from their provisional squad with batter Harry Brook replacing opener Jason Roy on 17 September.
India - Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
*India made one change from their provisional squad with Ravichandran Ashwin replacing spinner Axar Patel on 28 September.
Netherlands - Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
New Zealand - Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.
Pakistan - Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
*Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed and Zaman Khan.
South Africa - Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams.
*South Africa made two changes from their provisional squad with all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo and bowler Lizaad Williams replacing the injured Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala on 21 September.
Sri Lanka - Dasun Shanaka (c), Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dushan Hemantha, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Kasun Rajitha, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka
Travelling reserve: Chamika Karunaratne