2014 ICC World Twenty20 - Preview and Prediction

Australia is 3/1 favourite with bookies to win ICC T20 World cup 2014 followed by India 7/2 and Sri Lanka 11/2.

The 5^th edition of the ICC World Twenty20 will commence on March 16, 2014, in Bangladesh, where the current champions, West Indies, will try to retain the title. The inaugural event was held in South Africa in 2007 and was won by India, the second one was staged in England in 2009 and the trophy was lifted by Pakistan. The third tournament was played in West Indies in 2010 which was grabbed by England whereas the Caribbeans were the proud winners in 2012 in Sri Lanka.

A total of 16 teams will participate in the upcoming event and they are divided in groups A, B, C and D. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Nepal are placed in Group A, Ireland, Netherlads, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe will be in Group B. South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and New Zealand will fight in Group C whereas Australia, India, Pakistan and West Indies will appear in Group D.

All participating teams will appear in 16 warm-up matches which will be held between 12-19 March and the first game of the tournament will kick off on March 16, between the hosts Bangladesh and Afghanistan at Mirpur.

Below, we will highlight the possible chances of the mighty teams in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and will have a brief view of their important players.

Australia

Squad – George Bailey (C), Daniel Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, James Muirhead, Mitchell Starc, Shane Watson, David Warner, Cameron White.

Players to watch

David Warner is the top scorer for the Kangaroos and has scored 1260 runs at a healthy average of 28.63. George bailey will be a potential batsman in the middle and a miraculous batting is expected from Shane Watson whereas Mitchell Johnson is in top gear as a speedster.

England

Squad - Stuart Broad (C), Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Michael Lumb, Stephen Parry, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, James Tredwell, Luke Wright.

Players to watch

Eoin Morgan is an attacking batsman, loves to play his shots at will, Ravi Bopara can be dangerous and Alex Hales along with Ian Bell can play an important role in batting. The bowling of Stuart Broad will be the key for their victories and Tim Bresnan will be vital.

India

Squad – MS Dhoni (C), Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh.

Players to watch

Yuvraj Singh was the hero of the 2007 ICC Twenty20 which India won while beating their arch rivals Pakistan in the final. Shikhar Dhawan can harass the opponent bowlers with his aggressive batting, Virat Kohli is in great form whereas MS Dhoni is solid as rock in the middle order. Mohammed Shami has emerged as a superb quick bowler for the Blue Shirts and Ravindra Jadeja is a fine all rounder.

New Zealand

Brendon Mccullum (C), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Anton Devcich, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan Mccullum, Kyle Mills, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi. Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson.

Players to watch

Brendon McCullum is the highest run getter in the shortest versions of the game. He has powered 1959 runs at an average of 36.27 with 2 hundreds and 12 fifties. Martin Guptill is a fine opener with 1194 runs and Ross Taylor will look after the middle order with timely assault. Kane Williamson has transformed himself as a dangerous all rounder while Tim Southee will handle the new ball with variation and speed.

Pakistan

Squad – Mohammad Hafeez (C), Ahmed Shehzad, Bilawal Bhatti, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar.

Players to watch

Mohammad Hafeez is currently ranked no.1 as an all rounder in T20 and will lead his team from the front whereas Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal will dominate the batting. Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi are the highest wicket takers in T20 internationals with 81, 74 and 73 wickets.

South Africa

Squad - Faf du Plessis (C), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Beuran Hendricks, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

Players to watch

Jean-Paul Duminy heads the Proteas while scoring 1142 runs averaging 35.68 whereas Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla can provide them match winning scores. A fit Dale Steyn will be a challenge for the rival teams and will count his presence in the team.

Sri Lanka

Squad - Dinesh Chandimal (C), Lasith Malinga, Chaturanga de Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne.

Players to watch

Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara are the no.2, 3 and 4 top scorers in T20. They have smashed 1335, 1320 and 1311 runs respectively and play a sheet anchor’s role in the batting. Lasith Malinga is one of the dreadful bowlers in the game and has exhibited a lethal fast bowling in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2014.

West Indies

Squad - Darren Sammy (C), Samuel Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuel, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.

Players to watch

Chris Gayle is a dashing opener for the Windies and has scored 1060 runs for them at an average of 33.12 comprising 1 century and 10 fifties. Marlon Samuels is in great nick and Dwayne Bravo is a smooth all rounder whereas Sunil Narine and Darren Sammy can turn the tables on their day.

Prediction

The above eight teams will be the strong contenders of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Keeping in view the present performance, the coveted trophy will be grasped by one of the following teams:

India, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies