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| ICC World Twenty20: all the squads |
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| Category: Squads |
| Written by Luke Tagg |
| Monday, 05 April 2010 23:06 |
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You'd be forgiven for thinking that the ICC World Twenty20 - which starts in Guyana at the end of this month - is a boring old afterthought to the IPL, considering the relative marketing strengths of the two. The ICC might not have the depth of pocket the IPL does, but it does crown a world champion. I see the IPL as the appetizer, rather than the World T20 as dessert. Mmmm... dessert... The ICC has released the official, final, this-is-it list of all the men's squads competing in the World T20. I've added some notes on each. ICC World Twenty20 Squads Afghanistan Nawroz Mangal (captain) Mohammad Nabi Karim Sadiq Mirwais Ashraf Rais Ahmadzai Dawlat Ahmadzai Mohammad Shahzad Hamid Hassan Samiullah Shinwari Noor Ali Asghar Stanikzai Shahpoor Zadran Shabir Noori Sayed Nasrat Shafiq Shafaq Notes: I've never seen any of these fellas play, but I'm not exactly thrilled that South Africa has to play them in the group stage. They won't be hard to beat but they will be the heroes nonetheless, simply because they've been put upon by the USA. Take the points and get out of there, is my advice. Australia Michael Clarke (captain) Dan Christian Brad Haddin Nathan Hauritz David Hussey Michael Hussey Mitchell Johnson Brett Lee Dirk Nannes Tim Paine Steven Smith Shaun Tait David Warner Shane Watson Cameron White Notes: Genuine contenders, possible winners. Brilliant in every department, with excellent balance. The one thing that may hurt them is spin, although Hauritz and Smith are better than most think. Their pace bowlers are the best on Earth, but may be neutralised somewhat by the slow tracks. Bangladesh Shakib Al Hasan (captain) Mushfiqur Rahim Tamim Iqbal Imrul Kayes Mohammad Ashraful Aftab Ahmed Mahmudullah Naeem Islam Mashrafe Mortaza Abdur Razzak Shafiul Islam Rubel Hossain Syed Rasel Suhrawadi Shuvo Jahurul Islam Notes: Oh, you know. Same old, same old. A stirring victory against Ireland. Flashes of brilliance heavily diluted by idiocy. Never in contention. Constant underachievers. England Paul Collingwood (captain) James Anderson Ravi Bopara Tim Bresnan Stuart Broad Craig Kieswetter Michael Lumb Eoin Morgan Kevin Pietersen Ajmal Shahzad Ryan Sidebottom Graeme Swann James Tredwell Luke Wright Michael Yardy Notes: Semifinal contenders. Too inconsistent to win, I think. The big hitters are there, but the bowling looks threadbare. India Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain) Virender Sehwag Gautam Gambhir Yuvraj Singh Suresh Raina Yusuf Pathan Dinesh Karthik Ravindra Jadeja Zaheer Khan Praveen Kumar Ashish Nehra Harbhajan Singh Piyush Chawla R Vinay Kumar Rohit Sharma Notes: Genuine contenders, possible finalists. One weak link could be the pace attack, but the spinners will do just nicely in the Caribbean. The batting is a nightmare for opponents - Sehwag, Yuvraj, Yusuf Pathan, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina - the list is endless. Ireland William Porterfield (captain) Peter Connell Alex Cusack George Dockrell Trent Johnston Nigel Jones Gary Kidd John Mooney Kevin O'Brien Niall O'Brien Boyd Rankin Paul Stirling Andrew White Gary Wilson Notes: Ireland have pulled off the odd shock or two in ICC competitions and some of the names in that squad have been around a long time. They've got nothing to lose as usual and may be able to upset a more favoured opponent or two. Relying heavily on stout-based libations, they will either drink to their victories or drown their sorrows. Either way, they win. New Zealand Daniel Vettori (captain) Brendon McCullum Jesse Ryder Martin Guptill Ross Taylor Scott Styris Aaron Redmond Jacob Oram Gareth Hopkins Rob Nicol Nathan McCullum Kyle Mills Tim Southee Shane Bond Ian Butler Notes: Possible semifinalists, although on their day they can take out anyone. The form of Jesse Ryder could be very influential - if he fires they've also got Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori as batting options. Their lack of two quality spinners will hurt them - Vettori himself is not enough. Pakistan Shahid Afridi (captain) Salman Butt Mohammad Hafeez Khalid Latif Misbah-ul-Haq Fawad Alam Umar Akmal Abdul Razzaq Yasir Arafat Hammad Azam Kamran Akmal Umar Gul Mohammad Asif Mohammad Aamer Saeed Ajmal Notes: Defending champs, possible finalists. Despite all the ruckus in Pakistan of late, not to mention their hugely inconsistent nature, you can't rule these guys out of winning it again. They could just as easily fall apart, though, but I suspect they might bond under Boom-Boom. South Africa Graeme Smith (captain) Jacques Kallis Loots Bosman Johan Botha Mark Boucher AB de Villiers JP Duminy Herschelle Gibbs Rory Kleinveldt Charl Langeveldt Albie Morkel Morne Morkel Dale Steyn Rusty Theron Roelof van der Merwe Notes: Possible semifinalists. Sorry, boys. Until the Choker tag is removed, it must remain. Nobody other than Kallis has really impressed in the IPL, there have been injuries - it just doesn't feel right. The potential to win it is there - consistent execution remains a doubt. Sri Lanka Kumar Sangakkara (captain) Muttiah Muralitharan Tillakaratne Dilshan Mahela Jayawardene Dinesh Chandimal Angelo Mathews Thissara Perera Nuwan Kulasekera Suraj Randiv Ajantha Mendis Lasith Malinga Chanaka Welagedara Chamara Kapugedara Sanath Jayasuriya Chinthaka Jayasinghe Notes: Possible winners, genuine contenders. Destructive batters but more importantly specialist, dream-crushing bowlers: Murali, Mendis, Mathews and Malinga. Very tough side to beat. West Indies Chris Gayle (captain) Sulieman Benn Dwayne Bravo Shivnarine Chanderpaul Narsingh Deonarine Andre Fletcher Wavell Hinds Nikita Miller Kieron Pollard Denesh Ramdin Ravi Rampaul Kemar Roach Darren Sammy Ramnaresh Sarwan Jerome Taylor Notes: Possible semifinalists. Can't see them going further, despite the home ground advantage. They struggled against Zimbabwe, for goodness' sake. Zimbabwe Prosper Utseya (captain) Brendan Taylor Charles Coventry Andy Blignaut Hamilton Masakadza Tatenda Taibu Greg Lamb Elton Chigumbura Vusi Sibanda Ray Price Graeme Cremer Chamu Chibhabha Chris Mpofu Timycen Maruma Craig Ervine Notes: Good for a laff and the odd Mad Bob joke. They've proven they can beat the Windies at home already this season, so don't take them lightly. Beat them properly or risk embarrassment. My semifinalists out of that lot would be as follows: Australia India Sri Lanka One of Pakistan, South Africa or England will make up the fourth spot. The first three are non-negotiable. 
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