Sandeep Lamichhane and 19 other stars absent from Cricket World Cup 2019 - in pictures

The UAE captain is also included on the list as a host of top players miss out after the tournament was reduced to 10 teams

1. Sandeep Lamichhane (Nepal). Still only 18. So there will be time in the future for cricket’s rulers to come to their senses, expand the World Cup, and admit players of such rare talent – like Lamichhane – that do exist beyond the cosy cabal. Pawan Singh / The National

2 Rishabh Pant (India). Ravi Shastri, India’s coach, revealed in Dubai recently that India had informally lobbied the ICC to extend the World Cup squads from 15 to 16 players. Pant would almost certainly have been next man in. AP Photo

3. Mohammed Naveed (UAE). Now the UAE captain, the converted tape-ball cricketer showed at the World Cup Qualifier last year that he belongs in the very best company. Consistently outstanding as the pace-bowling figurehead for the UAE. Chris Whiteoak / The National

4. Kevin O’Brien (Ireland). Few players better exemplify the folly of the contraction of the World Cup. O’Brien scored its fastest ever century, in a stunning win over England in 2011. Clearly not welcome at the party, then. Pawan Singh / The National

5. Alex Hales (England). England’s Mission Impossible batsman: he will self-destruct in five seconds. Holds many of England’s individual batting records. Pity he cannot keep his mind on the job. Getty Images

6. Calum Macleod (Scotland). Farcical to think he is deemed not worthy of playing at a World Cup. He scored 140 against world No 1-ranked England last year, and made a spellbinding century against Rashid Khan’s Afghanistan, too. Reuters

7. Kieron Pollard (West Indies). Not part of the West Indies set up for some while, and the last time he did play, against Pakistan in UAE, he did not look overly interested anyway. But his power-hitting and elastic fielding are still missed. AFP

8. Graeme Cremer (Zimbabwe). To all intents and purposes, the leg-spinner had his international career ended aged 31 by failure to qualify for this World Cup. Now working in Dubai as a coach of the UAE Under 19 team. Satish Kumar for The National

9. Ali Khan (United States). The USA clinched one-day international status at the World Cricket League in Namibia recently. Ohio’s finest is America’s pace-bowling talisman, and he has appeared in many of the top franchise leagues around the world. Getty Images

10. Shubman Gill (India). Never really mentioned in relation to a call up to India’s squad. But he has since shown in the Indian Premier League what a precious talent he is. A potential India captain in the making. AP Photo

11. Mohammed Amir (Pakistan). Looked at on the bare facts of his recent form for Pakistan, he had no case for selection for their squad. But he does have some experience of English conditions, plus he has a liking for the big stage. AFP

12. Paras Khadka (Nepal). The trailblazer for the pioneering Nepal side that have made such great strides over the past 18 months. He might feel old in that team, given that many of its stars are teenagers, but he remains a class act. Satish Kumar/ For the National

13. Sunil Narine (West Indies). The fact Narine has played a shade over 100 matches across the formats for West Indies is both a surprise and a shame. He is so often absent as a T20 freelancer, but his wiles would still be well received in the international game. AP Photo

14. Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe). Few have spoken as eloquently about the ICC’s decision to close the doors to everyone else. And the allrounder did more than most to take Zimbabwe to the brink of qualifying for the tournament, too. Chris Whiteoak / The National

15. Josh Little (Ireland). First played an official international for Ireland, in T20, as a 16 year old in 2016. Three years on, the left-arm quick took four wickets against England on his ODI debut this month. AFP

16. Josh Hazlewood (Australia). The highest ranked players not to be playing at the World Cup. The fast-bowler is No 12 in the ICC’s rankings for ODI bowlers, but has not played since January because of back trouble. Getty Images

17. Rameez Shahzad (UAE). Centuries against Scotland and West Indies in ODIs in the recent past, and he got off his sick bed to play a crucial role in the win that ended Zimbabwe’s hopes of making it to this tournament. Courtesy ICC

18. George Munsey (Scotland). Few players are in better nick at present than the Scotland batsman – although, admittedly his has been some distance from the top flight. He made a 25-ball ton in English second XI cricket, as well as a string of other scores besides. Getty Images

19. Anshuman Rath (Hong Kong). Rath gave up an economics degree to devote himself to cricket. Harsh, then, that Hong Kong’s captain is barred entry to play in the UK, has no World Cup to look forward to, while his country have also lost ODI status. Chris Whiteoak / The National

20. Bilal Khan (Oman). If not a World Cup, then the left-arm swing bowler can at least look forward to an ODI future. One of the key figures in the Oman side that earned one-day status in some style in Namibia recently. Getty Images

Shrinking the World Cup to 10 teams has meant there will be scores of talented players left watching rather participating in the UK this summer. There will even be some conspicuous absentees among the nations that are involved.

In the photo gallery above, Paul Radley picks 20 of the best players who will be missing from the 2019 tournament.

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