3 reasons why West Indies may not qualify for 2023 World Cup

Regarded as the undisputed invincibles from the early 1970s to the early 1990s, the West Indies' capitulation to being one of the bottom-ranked sides in world cricket is a heartbreaking tale for their fans and supporters.

The sour relationship between the board and their players has also played a part in several of their in-form players choosing franchise cricket over international commitments. This has resulted in them playing qualifying tournaments for both the ODI and T20 World Cups.

Ahead of the fifty-over World Cup, the Windows are currently in Zimbabwe fighting it off in the qualifying event. Only teams from this tournament will go through to the main competition slated to be played in India in October-November.

They will be up against some good-quality sides and will be hoping that it is not a repeat of the 2022 T20 World Cup, where they failed to advance from the qualifying round.

As a former world champion, the West Indies have been severely hampered by the absence of their star players. The likes of Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, and many others have preferred to play T20 tournaments all across the globe rather than playing for the West Indies.

The last few years have been very challenging for West Indies cricket due to the lack of revenue generated. All other sides in the qualifying round, including Sri Lanka, have a full-strength squad to choose from.

However, there are quite a few players in the West Indies ranks who wouldn't have gotten a chance if some of the other top players were present.

They won their opening game against the UAE, but not before they were given some tough competition. With that said, let us have a look at three possible reasons why the West Indies may not qualify for the 2023 World Cup:

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#1 Lack of a proper match winner in the 50-over format

West Indies v India - One Day International Series

Over the years, the West Indies have produced several top-quality players, but they lack the resources of a proper ODI team.

While the newly appointed skipper Shai Hope has been a heavy run scorer for the Windows, his below-par strike rate has been questioned on several occasions. Unlike yesteryear, the concept of a sheet anchor seems to be diminishing with each passing day.

In the middle order, they have some powerful lads in the form of Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, and Roston Chase. On their day, this trio can be destructive but lacks consistency.

Teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe, and the Netherlands have the ability to upset top-quality sides, so the West Indies have to be wary of not taking them lightly, or else they could well end up missing out on the World Cup berth.

Someone like Sunil Narine or Andre Russell would have come in handy for the West Indies at this point.

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#2 Lack of a penetrative bowling attack

While the West Indies have the likes of Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd in their ranks, the rest of the bowling line-up looks totally inexperienced. Even Shepherd is only in the initial part of his international career, so Joseph has to carry the majority of the workload.

The likes of Akeal Hosein and Yanic Cariah have been brilliant in their domestic T10 competitions, but whether Cariah in particular is up for the international challenge remains to be seen. With some solid batters in most of the teams, it won't be easy for the Windies bowlers to blow them away cheaply.

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#3 West Indies' captaincy conundrum

South Africa v West Indies - 3rd One Day International

Shai Hope has established himself as an integral part of the West Indies ODI set-up, but he is new to his captaincy role. Nicholas Pooran stepped down from the role after the West Indies' early exit from the T20 World Cup last year.

With the World Cup just around the corner, Hope doesn't look like a settled captain, which might spell doom for the Windies. Hope hasn't had the opportunity to lead against top-ranked sides, which makes him an untested captain at the highest level.

Some of his decisions have lacked conviction, but he has to remain positive and come out with a clear plan for the qualifiers.