Russell has been facing issues regarding his knee for a while. As result, he played in only four out of six matches in the ongoing group stages. Most recently, when West Indies faced New Zealand at Old Trafford, he had to sit out of the must-win match. Carlos Brathwaite replaced him in the line-up and nearly took West Indies home with a fighting century. The other match that Russell had to sit out was against South Africa, though that was eventually washed out.

However, Russell has been severely struggling with his knee right from West Indies' first match of the campaign, though he bagged 2 for 4 in that game against Pakistan at Trent Bridge. Although a meagre run chase of 106 meant he was not required with the bat, Russell again seemed in clear discomfort when West Indies played Australia, though he again took two wickets.

His troublesome knee even led to experts questioning his presence in the playing eleven, justified by the fact the he has picked only 5 wickets and played with visible pain. But Russell's returns with the bat have been far more disappointing, having made just 36 runs in three innings. He has been found guilty of playing irresponsible shots against Australia and England, when a lengthy stay at the crease could have ensured West Indies at least beat the former in a close game.

With Russell now gone, the selectors have opted for top order batsman Ambris, though they had bigger names like Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard to choose from. Ambris recently played for West Indies in the tri-series in Ireland immediately preceding the World Cup, where he smashed a career-best 148. In 6 ODIs so far, the right hander has scored 316 runs at 105.33 at a strike rate of over 105 with one half-century and century each.

West Indies sit at eighth on the table and have their remaining matches against India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. They face an almost impossible task of qualifying for the semi-finals, with an unbeaten India to play against at Old Trafford on June 27.