'Selection process or maybe cricketing politics' - Farokh Engineer reasons out West Indies' shocking exit from T20 World Cup

The elimination of the two-time champions West Indies from the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup can very easily be considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament. Absolutely nothing worked for them as West Indies struggled to find momentum throughout the tournament.

Following their untimely exit from the multi-nation tournament, politics in their cricketing world is once again the talk of the town. Despite not being retired from international cricket, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are no more considered for selection and on the other hand, Shimron Hetmyer’s sudden exclusion from the squad had also raised massive doubts among followers all over the world. 

Former India cricketer Farokh Engineer too has his doubts about West Indies involving politics in their cricketing culture. He questioned their team selection and said he will definitely miss the West Indies team in the ongoing tournament.

“I can't imagine a world competition without the West Indies because West Indies were part and parcel in my time,” said the former cricketer on BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker.

“Cricket is poorer with the West Indies. Let's hope they'll come back. I'm sure they will come back again. I think there were some faults in their team selection, not availability of certain players. They have got some fabulous players still who are ideal for T20. They should be in the 20-20 competition. I  think the selection process or maybe politics in their country, I don’t know maybe cricketing politics, I'm far away from that. Clive Llyod is one of my best friends, he was my roommate for Lanarkshire, for 10 years. So, we used to talk a lot about international cricket, West Indies cricket and he used to always tell me how it is degenerating after he left,” the 84-year-old added.

West Indies will be missed but the teams qualified aren’t weak: Asghar Afghan

Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Ireland have qualified for the Super 12 of the competition and will now have the tough task to play against the big boys of world cricket. Now, they have the opportunity to cause some upsets in the tournament and establish their superiority in the cricketing world. In the same light, former Afghanistan cricketer Asghar Afghan also voiced his opinions.

“Ireland, Holland and Sri Lanka have always defeated some of the big names in world cup history. All the 12 teams qualified are actually very good. As Farokh Engineer sir said, we all will miss the West Indies in the World Cup. They should have been there but unfortunately won’t be there. However, the teams that qualified aren’t weak at all. They have played a lot of cricket as an unit. They will try to cause an upset in the tournament and win multiple matches to not only earn points but again a lot of experience,” said Asghar Afghan in the same show.