We are over a week away from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Ten teams will participate in the mega tournament that will be played over 46 days and across 11 venues. India and hosts England have been rated as favourites and are likely to make it to the finals as well or at least semifinals. As always a big tournament has dark horses and underdogs and the 2019 Cricket World Cup is no exception. ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Winner Prediction: Harbhajan Singh Picks Four Semifinalists for This Year's CWC Trophy.

Teams like India, England, defending champions Australia, New Zealand are most favourites to make it to last four while Pakistan and South Africa’s qualification won’t be that surprising. Though Pakistan’s captain Sarfraz Ahmed is happy to tag his side as an underdog, in fact, they are among the favourites. Their ICC Champions Trophy triumph in 2017 puts them in the favourites category. On the other hand, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh come into the tournament as underdogs and if they manage to reach last four or finals it will be a bit surprising.

Afghanistan perhaps will be looking to cause an upset in the tournament and a win here or there should be nothing less than an achievement for them as they are playing only their second World Cup. Meanwhile, we will try to explain why West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are underdogs at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. ICC Cricket World Cup: Here’s a Look at Some Records and Stats Ahead of CWC 2019.

West Indies

West Indies cricket team. (Photo Credits: Getty Images)

After the two titles in 1975 and 1979, the World Cup trophy has eluded West Indies since then. And the last time they made it to the finals of the World Cup was in 1983. In 1996 West Indies made its last appearance in the semi-finals of the tournament. Over the years, Windies have struggled to put up an impressive show at the World Cup. In this year’s edition, the Jason Holder-led side goes into the tournament as an eighth-ranked team. It had to play a qualifying tournament to seal a place in the tournament proper. Windies have shown the resurgence of-late and their squad is loaded with potential match-winners. Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo Among West Indies Reserve Players for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka cricket team. (Photo Credits: Getty Images)

The Sri Lankan team is ranked ninth on the ICC rankings for ODIs. Dimuth Karunaratne will lead the side at the World Cup and interestingly, he played his last ODI before being named as captain in 2015. Sri Lanka have suffered many series defeats in the build-up to the World Cup and apparently, is the least favourite to qualify for even semi-finals.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh cricket team. (Photo Credits: Getty Images)

Bangladesh have been doing well in recent years and at the 2015 edition of the World Cup, they qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time. With a series win over Windies team, Bangladesh will be confident of pulling out some surprises. They are perhaps the genuine underdogs in the tournament.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2019 01:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).