World Cup 2019: 3 former world champions who are unlikely to qualify for semi-finals

It's less than eight months until Cricket's most prestigious Global tournament takes center stage. The twelfth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup is all set to commence from May 30 as the host nation will lock horns against the Proteas in the opening encounter of the 6-week long cricket extravaganza.

All ten teams will be looking to give their best shot in the league stages so as to qualify for the knockout stages. Each team is scheduled to play every other team at least once before the top four teams make it to the semis.

Looking at the present form of each team in the limited overs format, world cricket seems to be divided with 3-4 sides head and shoulders above the rest.

We take a look at those teams who may fail to qualify for the last four in the upcoming World Cup:

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#3. Sri Lanka

The team from the Island nation is in all sorts of trouble. They recently faced an early exit from the Asia Cup after being outdone by Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The team is lacking an inspiring figure in their squad who can inflict an upturn in their fortunes. The senior players need to step up with their performances to help their team regain their foothold in the international arena. However, looking at their present run of form, Sri Lanka will find it difficult to make it to the last four in the World Cup next year.

#2. Windies

The two-time reigning champions, Windies are on a road of disappointing losses in every format of the game in the recent past. The issues between the management and their players have affected their cricket for a while now. The defending T20 Champions boast some of the top T20 players in the world but seem to lack quality players in other formats of the game.

Their recent 2-1 loss against Bangladesh in the ODI series at home is a worrying sign for them leading up to the World Cup. The return of some of their veterans in Chris Gayle and Andre Russell must have boosted their confidence but the team needs to perform collectively as a unit if they are to upset any bigger teams in the World Cup.

They even missed out on an opportunity to qualify for the Champions Trophy last year but made it to the World Cup by securing a berth in the finals of the ICC World Cup qualifiers earlier this year.

#1. Australia

This might come as a shocker but it is the ultimate reality, as the defending Champions have been through a disappointing run in the past year in the 50-over format.

After the two pillars of Australian cricket, Steve Smith and David Warner were banned from representing their country for a year, the men in yellow have failed to find replacements for either of the two individuals.

The Steve Smith-led side even failed to make it to the last four in the Champions Trophy 2017. Ever since their Ashes victory earlier this year, Australia have failed to win any ODI series against the top 8 teams. They lost both home and away series against England by a margin of 4-1 and 5-0 respectively. If the trend continues, it won't be a surprise if the powerhouse of World cricket of the early 2000s, faces an abrupt exit in the upcoming World Cup.