West Indies cricketers prioritize PSL over World Cup Qualifiers

The downfall of West Indies cricket is a heart-breaking and intriguing story which shall reverberate even after the turn of another century. After dominating an era with some ferocious batsmen and legendary fast bowlers, things have turned upside down in the next 2-3 decades. The country which has produced the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Garfield Sobers, Malcolm Marshall etc. is now struggling to qualify for the World Cup, which sums up the entire story.

Many believe T20 cricket has played its part in this unfortunate journey from the cliff of the mountain to hit the underground. The spats between the Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the players is another contributing factor. There have been many altercations between them, mostly regarding the players’ payments.

This payments fiasco made the cricketers turn towards T20 Leagues to have a regular source of income. And as things have transpired, their cricketers are starting to ignore International matches to participate in big T20 Leagues across the world.

Big names to miss out of the World Cup Qualifiers

Now, the CWI has officially confirmed that the likes of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, and Darren Bravo will be a part of the Pakistan Super League. This means all these players will be missing the World Cup Qualifiers, which are scheduled to take place around about the same time period.

England will play hosts for the Next Cricket World Cup in 2019. Windies have failed to earn a direct ticket to the tournament and now, they will be up against 9 other sides who seek to secure a berth in the World Cup. Some big teams amongst the associates like Ireland, Afghanistan and Netherlands managed to defeat them in the past, something which can repeat in the Qualifiers.

“We contacted some of our well-known senior cricketers to ascertain their availability for the tournament and we are pleased that Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels have indicated their full support and commitment to the cause,” chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said in a media release.

“Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Darren Bravo and Andre Russell, however, indicated that they were unavailable to help us qualify as their priority was playing in the Pakistan Super League,” He added.