West Indies head coach Phil Simmons said he cannot beg his players to consider representing the country as their first preference.“I don’t think that I should be begging people to play for the West Indies,” Simmons was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo ahead of the Windies’ home T20I series versus New Zealand.

The former opener expressed his disappointment even as the Windies cricket board struggles to home in on its best squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia,with most of its cricketers either playing franchise league elsewhere or out injured.

The current crisis in Windies cricket does “hurt” Simmons. “It hurts. There’s no other way to put it. But what can you do?“As I said, I don’t think that I should be begging people to play for their countries. I think if you want to represent the West Indies, you will make yourself available,” Simmons remarked.

“Life has changed, as people have the opportunities to go different places and if they choose that over the West Indies,that’s just how it is,” he added.

The list of absentees is long. All-rounder Andre Russell hasn’t made himself available for selection as he, along with off-spinner Sunil Narine, is currently playing The Hundred in England.Opener Evin Lewis and pacer Oshane Thomas have not appeared for their fitness tests, while the likes of Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen and Roston Chase are all out with injuries.

The Windies’ recent 1-4 drubbing to India didn’t help them at all in their preparation for the T20 World Cup. But the team gets one more chance to try out the remaining available players in the international arena in the series against the Black Caps, before the World Cup gets underway.

“From what I have gathered,I think he is unavailable because he hasn’t made himself available,” Windies chief selector Desmond Haynes said of Russell.“I would love everyone to play for the West Indies. I would love to make sure that all the guys make themselves available to play,” Haynes added.

“But you must realise that the guys have options now. And if guys are choosing other franchises over the West Indies, then we have to pick from who all are available to us.”Players, stars in the IPL and other franchise leagues, haven’t turned up on a regular basis for the Windies, which hurt the team’s prospects on the international stage over the last few years. Haynes, though, feels that the cricketers who impress in this year’s Caribbean Premier League beginning from September 1 should be included in the Windies T20 Cup squad.