Ranking chances of each team taking part in the 2019 World Cup, Part 1

World Cup 2019 is fast approaching and every team is striving its level best to figure out perfect combinations for all the three aspects of the game. This edition of the Cup will be played in a round-robin system making it different from the previous World Cups. It means every team will play at least one match against each other in this edition. Only the top four teams of the group stages will advance further to the knockouts. This will be played by top 8 ranked ODI teams and 2 teams which won the ICC World Cup Qualifiers (West Indies and Afghanistan).

All these 10 teams have started trying every permutation and combination possible for them. Today we are going to rank the bottom 5 teams according to their current squad and performance.

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#1 West Indies

Chris won't play against India

It's disheartening to say but West Indies cricket has fallen down a lot in the last decade. They were on the brink of getting knocked out of their first ever World Cup in 2019 but narrowly made it by finishing as the runners-up in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers. Problems of players with West Indies Cricket Board and attraction towards cash-rich leagues of few big players have put West Indies cricket in a jeopardy. They are left with few choices to make a selection.

After all these problems, their captain and team's pinnacle all-rounder, Jason Holder still boosts chances for the West Indies team. The team still has the services of players like Chris Gayle and Andre Rusell. They also have the destructive duo of Evin Lewis and Marlon Samuels. In fast bowling, they have Kemar Roach and Captain Jason Holder himself..

Even after this, their chances seem very bleak at the moment. Only if they can do a complete turnaround till the World Cup they may become a force to reckon with.

#2 Afghanistan

Rashid Khan is Afghanistan's treasure

The exciting brand of cricket that the Afghan players play has taken them to a whole new level. They recently played their first ever Test Match against India. But this is about limited overs format.

In the limited overs format, they have been performing good in the recent months. Their performance in the recently concluded Asia Cup was top notch and praised by many greats of the game. They defeated the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, played a tie with India and almost defeated the Pakistan team. This performance would have certainly boosted their confidence. Their team is led by the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, and Mohammed Nabi. The biggest positive from the Asia Cup is that their batting has started to click as a unit in whole.

The only problem with Afghanistan is their lack of exposure of England's conditions. Still, we can expect them to cause an upset or two in the World Cup 2019.

#3 Sri Lanka

Srilanka was once a force to reckon with

Once Sri Lanka was represented by the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Muttiah Muralitharan and now they are fighting to save their own existence. Their Asia Cup campaign was a disaster as they were unable to secure a single win in the tournament. Also, they lost to England at their own turfs which is a bigger problem.

The fact is Sri Lanka never recovered from the loss of its greats. It has always remained in the shadow of this legends and now they are finding it difficult to replace them. The only positive for them is that their old horse Lasith Malinga has returned to ODI setup and had also performed well in the two series he had played till now. They have also replaced Angelo Mathews with a permanent captain in the form of Dinesh Chandimal.

Now it's up to Chandimal how good team he can build for the next World Cup but at this point of time, it seems improbable for them to move much further in the coveted tournament.

#4 Bangladesh

Mushfiquar Rahman

Another Asian team which has seen a surge especially in the limited overs format of the game. They entered the quarter-finals of the 2015 edition of the cup by knocking out the 2019 edition's host England in the group stages. They reached the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2017 by finishing second in a group consisting of the likes of Australia, New Zealand and England. The more important fact is that they have a lot of experience to play in England as well.

Their surge has been proudly led by their captain Mashrafe Mortaza who would be also handy in England with his swing bowling. They have the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim in their batting and Mustifizur Rahman in bowling. They also have experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan with them in the ranks.

Their future depends on the fact that how well Bangladesh can handle their nerves in a crunch situation.

#5 Australia

Australia will miss him

Defending champions Australia and a five times World Champion side is not looking that indispensable in this edition of the Cup that they should have. The main reason for this is that they will be missing the services of their two veterans Steve Smith and David Warner and even if they play they may not be fully mentally prepared to compete at such a level. The lack of this devasting duo is pretty visible in Australia's recent failure in England where they were thrashed by the English batsman in every corner of the ground.

Without this two players, Australia looks a very inexperienced side with Captain Tim Paine not having much experience both as a captain and a player under his belt. Paine would have to build a credible team soon if they have to entertain any chances of getting into the knockouts of the next year's mega event.