All the 14 participating teams in the World Cup have announced their 15-player squad for the 12015 ICC Cricket World up be hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Even as there have been some surprise selections, most of the teams have put forward their strongest side. Most importantly, no team will be entering the tournament as a favourite. While Australia, South Africa and India will continue to the teams to beat, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and England also have a fine side. India will have a tough time defending its title this time. Here is a brief analysis of all the sides.
India: Indian selectors have done well to pick the best possible squad they could. However, it is highly devoid of experience and players are yet to put up consistent performances of note outside the subcontinent. On paper, the 15 players selected make for a strong team, but the bouncy tracks of Australia and the swinging conditions in New Zealand is likely to pose some trouble to an otherwise strong batting line-up that has mastered the art of succeeding in the flat tracks of India. The selectors have taken the bold move of dropping Yuvraj Singh and going risking an injured Ravindra Jadeja. If the team does justice to its talent, it can threaten the best of the sides in defending the title.
Squad: MS Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Stuart Binny, Umesh Yadav
Pakistan: Pakistan are unfortunate as they have lost the service of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who is one of their biggest match-winner. With Mohammad Hafeez being restricted from bowling, the balance of the side has taken a major hit. Even as the selectors have gone back on the experience of in-form batsman Younis Khan, they chose to do away without the services of Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir. Despite all of that, Pakistan boasts of one of the deadliest bowling attacks in the competition. Nonetheless, their batting looks weak and devoid of reliable lower middle-order batsmen.
Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Ehsan Adil and Yasir Shah
England: It was high time coming, but the English selectors dropped skipper Alastair Cook from the squad and went ahead with a much exuberant and young team. The exclusion of Ben Stokes is surprising, but otherwise the team has a good balance with stroke-makers, long innings players and good pace attack. James Tredwell is a good frontline spin option to have alongside the part-time services of Moeen Ali.
Squad: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan (capt), Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka have a good look to their squad going into the World Cup. Senior players Angelo Mathews, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan are in good form going into the tournament. However, with Kusal Perera and Upal Tharanga dropped from the squad, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne and Dimuth Karunaratne will have to rise to the challenge. Having two medium pace all-rounders in the form of Mathews and Thisara Perera offers good balance to the side. With Lasith Malinga’s fitness under question, Nuwan Kulasekara will have to lead the pace attack. Selectors have gone in without mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis.
Squad: Angelo Mathews (captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga (subject to fitness), Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake.
South Africa: South Africa have arguably the best batting and bowling line-up in the tournament. Yet without Robn Peterson and Ryan McLaren, the balance of the side is slightly shaken. Quinton de Kock is not fully fit. However, if he recovers on time, alongside Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, he will make the deadliest top-order. The Top Four will be followed by a more brutal force of JP Duminy and David Miller. The former will also have to take upon the burden of filling in a lot of overs with the ball. On the other hand, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernion Philander will be excited at the prospect of bowling in friendly conditions of Australia and New Zealand. However, much of their concern will revolve around filling the remaining two spots in the line-up.
Squad: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla (vice-captain), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn.
New Zealand: After a long time, New Zealand will be coming into the World Cup as one of the favourites. They are coming into the tournament at the back of an excellent 2014. The top-order has fired well with the presence of Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum. The skipper has been aggressive and inspirational. He will be relying on the in-form Taylor and Williamson to lead New Zealand’s charge in this tournament. Even as the squad looks well balanced, the reserves were a surprise selection. The likes of Matt Henry and James Neesham were excluded in place of Grant Elliot, Trent Boult and Tom Latham.
Squad: Brendon McCullum (c), Trent Boult, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Luke Ronchi (wk), Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan.
Australia: Australian selectors have picked a strong squad for the World Cup going ahead with injured skipper Michael Clarke to lead the side. The side is packed with big-hitting all-rounders like Shane Watson, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner offering good flexibility to the side. In fact, with the top-order also including power-hitters like David Warner, Aaron Finch, George Bailey, opposition bowlers will have to do a lot of leather hunting. The selectors had a lot of option for the pace attack. However, they went in with just one spinner Xavier Doherty, giving a snub to Nathan Lyon who had a fantastic series against India, where he finished as the top wicket-taker. They are certainly one of the favourites to win the title at home.
Squad: Michael Clarke (c), George Bailey, David Warner, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Shane Watson, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner.
West Indies: Internal politics led to some bizarre selection by the Clive Lloyd-led panel, which included the exclusion of the experienced Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard. The reins of leading West Indies in the world Cup has been handed over to Jason Holder. Even as the selected squad is far from being full-strength, they still look decent on paper. With a large number of all-rounders in the squad – Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle, they have enough options with both bat and ball. Even as they look unlikely to go past the quarter finals, they are still good enough to register a few upsets. Sunil Narine is back in the side and if he or Chris Gayle get going, West Indies can beat the best of sides in the tournament.
Squad: Jason Holder (c), Marlon Samuels, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine.
Bangladesh: Shakib al Hasan is back in form and his performance is likely to dictate Bangladesh’s fortunes in the World Cup. Mushfiqur Rahim too has had a good year coming into the tournament and if Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza and Mahmudullah strike form, Bangladesh can form a potent side. Again, they are unlikely to go too far in the tournament. At best, they can register a upset or two.
Squad: Masrafe Bin Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Mominul Hoque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Shabbir Rahaman, Soumya Sarkar, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Al Amin Hossain, Taijul Islam, Arafat Sunny.
Zimbabwe: The best of Zimbabwe’s cricketing days is very much a thing of past now. But a surprise victory over Australia recently in the tri-series would have given their morale a big boost. There are a few players who can make handy contributions with both bat and ball. However, the African nation is unlikely to repeat their performances of 1999 and 2003 World Cup.
Squad: Elton Chigumbura (c), Sikandar Butt, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams
Ireland: The Irish beat Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011. Top teams will be wary of the side after the two upsets in the previous two World Cups. Most of the players in the squad wer a part of the last two editions and have formed the crux of the Irelnd side as they have grown in strength over the years. William Porterfield, Niall O Brian, Kevin O’Brian, Ed Joyce, Gary Wilson, George Dockrell, Alex Cusack, Paul Stirling and John Mooney have all formed the core of Ireland’s side for a long time.
Squad: William Porterfield (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, Craig Young
Afghanistan: Without a doubt, irrespective of the result, Afghanistan is the side to watch out in the 2015 ICC World Cup. They may not boast of the strongest side; maybe not manage to register an upset or even a single win against another minnow. But the fact that they managed to qualify is a fairytale in itself. Mohammad Nabi, Nawroz Mangal, Samiullah Shenwari and Shapoor Zadran have been instrumental in the side’s cricketing success. If not anything, they will surely give a fight to register their first World Cup win.
Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Samiullah Shenwari, Afsar Zazai (wkt), Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Mirwais Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani
Scotland: After failing to qualify for two successive World Cups, Scotland have come back and will be competition alongside Ireland and Engalnd. Alongwith UAE, Scotland is the weakest side in the tournament and success in any form will be a momentous occasion for the cricketing side. The squad does not inspire much confidence to even register an upset, but they have doen well to qualify.
Squad: Preston Mommsen (c), Kyle Coetzer, Richie Berrington, Freddie Coleman, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Safyaan Sharif, Robert Taylor, Iain Wardlaw, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner.
UAE: Again, much like Scotland, there is little that UAE promises. They are participating in a World Cup for the first time since 1996 and will be hoping to put a strong performance. Also Read: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule in IST: Time Table, Fixture & Venue Details of all WC 2015 Matches
Squad: Mohammad Tauqir (c), Khurram Khan, Swapnil Patil, Saqlain Haider, Amjad Javed, Manjula Guruge, Andri Berenger, Fahad Al Hashmi, Muhammad Naveed, Kamran Shahzad, K Karate, Shaiman Anwar, Amjad Ali, Nasir Aziz, Rohan Mustafa. (Image Credit: Jyoti Desale)
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