Who Will You Back?
Held jointly by Australia and New Zealand, the 11th Cricket World Cup will be starting on February 14th till March 29th. The tournament will include a total of 14 international countries which are split into two groups.
Teams who made the final tournament are:
AFGHANISTAN
Their first appearance in a World Cup tournament Afghanistan’s entry into international cricket has been one of inspirational and quite remarkable. Having qualified through ICC’s wildcard competition, the team has a energetic burst of youth and underestimated wealth of talent on its side. They stunned the cricketing world after upsetting Bangladesh in the 2013 – 2014 Asia Cup, their first win against any test playing nation.
KEY PLAYER: Mohammed Nabi
AUSTRALIA
Australia is on a high after thumping both India and England in the recent tri-series competition. Home advantage is another factor that goes with the Aussies. Their 2011 World Cup campaign saw them losing to India in the knockout stages.
KEY PLAYER: Steve Smith
BANGLADESH
Since its first burst onto the international stage, Bangladesh have gone from to strength. Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim will form the core of the side alongside Mortaza and Shakib, while among the younger lot, there were call-ups for Soumya Sarkar, the 21-year-old allrounder who has done well in domestic cricket this season, Taskin Ahmed, the 19-year-old fast bowler, and Taijul Islam, who had a sensational ODI debut against Zimbabwe.
KEY PLAYER: Mashrafe Mortaza
ENGLAND
England selectors have made three changes to the one-day squad that lost 5-2 to Sri Lanka in December. Led by Eoin Morgan, James Anderson and Stuart Broad return from injury with batsman Gary Ballance also included. Alastair Cook, Ben Stokes and Harry Gurney are the three players to miss out from the most recent one-day squad.
NEW ZEALAND
Brendon McCullum will lead a full-strength New Zealand squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. The batting line-up boasts of experience in the form of McCullum, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson, while Corey Anderson and Grant Elliott, who last played an ODI in November 2013, will serve as the allrounders.
KEY PLAYER: Kane Williamson
SCOTLAND
Scotland will start their Group A campaign on February 17th against hosts New Zealand, in what is now a sold out fixture, in Dunedin. Preston Mommsen will lead Scotland to their third World Cup campaign, and will be determined to help secure their first win on the global stage, while looking to boost their current One Day International ranking of 14th in the world.
SRI LANKA
Sachithra Senanayake and Lasith Malinga were named in Sri Lanka’s 15-man squad, Malinga last figured in an international fixture four months ago and his participation is subject to fitness.
The Angelo Mathews-led squad also features Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene, the experienced trio that was part of the team that finished runners-up at the 2011 edition in the subcontinent.
KEY PLAYER: Kumar Sangakkara
INDIA
MS Dhoni will lead the 15-man Indian squad that will aim to defend its ICC Cricket World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand in February-March.
Ravindra Jadeja and Stuart Binny have been included as all-rounders, whilst Axar Patel and Ravinchandran Ashwin offer spin options. The squad also features several fast bowlers with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma leading the line.
IRELAND
There are no changes to the 15 players named last month for the training camp and tri-series in Dubai against Afghanistan and Scotland.
Captain William Porterfield is one of five players who will be participating in their third World Cup, along with the O’Brien brothers, Ed Joyce, and John Mooney.
KEY PLAYER: William Porterfield
PAKISTAN
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced a squad which contains two openers, four middle order batsmen, five pace bowlers, one spinner, two all-rounders and a wicket-keeper/batsman.
Sohail Khan, the seamer, who last represented Pakistan in 2011, was included. Shoiab Maqsood and Ehsan Adil have recovered from injuries and will feature in the squad. Pakistan fans will be delighted by the presence of Shahid Afridi who will play in a fifth ICC Cricket World Cup since his debut back in 1999.
SOUTH AFRICA
AB De Villiers will lead a full strength South Africa squad to Australia and New Zealand. There are eight players with previous World Cup experience, De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy, Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn and Imran Tahir. Whilst of the newcomers, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock and Vernon Philander will be hoping to shine for the first time on the ICC Cricket World Cup stage.
KEY PLAYER: AB De Villiers
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
UAE will be captained by Mohammed Tauqir, with Khurram Khan as Vice Captain.
Considered a solid middle-order batsman and a right-arm offspinner, Tauqir has been an outstanding performer in the UAE’s World Cup preparations, showing positive development in both skill and fitness.
The UAE Squad also includes several members that represented them at their inaugural ICC World Twenty20 appearance in 2014 with Swapnil Patel, Rohan Mustafa, Kamran Shahzad and others returning for another ICC Global Event.
KEY PLAYER: Mohammed Tauqir
WEST INDIES:
Jason Holder captains the 1975 & 1979 World Cup Winners who will be looking for a third Cricket World Cup title, seasoned batsman Marlon Samuels has been appointed Vice Captain.
The most experienced ODI player in the squad is opener Chris Gayle with 258 appearances. Samuels (162), Denesh Ramdin (115) and Darren Sammy (115) all have over a hundred ODI games under their belts. Dwayne Smith (94) could achieve his 100th appearance during the Cricket World Cup.
ZIMBABWE:
Zimbabwe’s 15-man squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup sees Elton Chigumbura lead his country as captain.
Hamilton Masakadza, who made his international debut 14 years ago, is set to play in his first World Cup. Masakadza will form the batting core alongside Sikander Raza, Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine and Sean Williams.
The bowling group will be led by Tinashe Panyangara, who is likely to share the new ball with Tendai Chatara.
KEY PLAYER: Elton Chigumbura
