Dwayne Bravo West Indies MS Dhoni India
West Indies players stand behind their captain Dwayne Bravo during the toss as India skipper MS Dhoni looks onPal Pillai/Sportzpics/BCCI

Chief selector and former West Indies great Clive Lloyd stated that the decision to omit Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard from the ICC World Cup squad was not easy.

Their performances, which were not 'exceptional' was one of the reasons for the cricket board deciding not to take the players on board to Australia and New Zealand for the prestigious tournament, despite being a part of the 30 probables.

"It was a very difficult decision," Lloyd told ESPNcricinfo. "I can tell you it went on for two days. We suspended it to give a chance to think about things and so on. There were a lot of discussions.

"But then you get to a point where you say, right, this is where we want to go. It is very difficult for people to understand or to accept. But we want to move on.

"I don't think they have had any exceptional performances. Nobody (of the two players -- Bravo and Pollard) have got exceptional performances as far as West Indies is concerned. They have been there and thereabouts.

"We really and truly want to pick people on what they have done for our cricket and not for anyone else."

But, Lloyd's justification of performances does not reflect a fair picture for the two cricketers, Pollard and Bravo, as they are fourth and fifth on the list of highest run-scorers for West Indies since the 2011 World Cup.

However, the former West Indies captain Lloyd also stated that their career is not over and they could make a comeback into the team.

"Yes, I spoke to them in Cape Town. They understand what the situation is," he said. "Don't forget, these guys have been playing for West Indies for a while. And they will be disappointed.

"But they have a chance of redeeming themselves and getting back into our cricket in the future. One is 31 [Bravo] and the other is 27 or 28 [Pollard]."

Though, the West Indies team may be without two of their most important players, they are still a force to be reckoned with players such as Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Andre Russell, Dwayne Smith, Sunile Narine and Darren Sammy among a host of other stars in the squad, which will be led by Jason Holder.

One is not certain as to whether dropping such high-profile players was the right decision, but if the Caribbean side puts up a good performance, and manages to win the World Cup, it is the selectors who are going to be applauded for selecting a winning team.

But, if the team happen to exit early from the competition, the West Indies selectors will have face the music.