The ICC World T20 2021 will begin on Sunday in Oman with the hosts taking on Papua New Guinea while Bangladesh will take on Scotland in the other match to determine the two teams for the Super 12 stage.
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The IPL 2021 might be getting over on Friday. But, Twenty20 action is all set to begin with the ICC World T20 2021 going ahead on Sunday. The tournament will be in two parts. Eight teams will battle it out in qualifiers before the main Super 12 stage begins on October 23. The two teams that top the qualifying group stage will join the top eight teams in the Super 12 stage.
All teams have announced their squads, with the ICC giving time till the 15th of October to make any necessary changes. India made one change to the side just before the second Qualifier. Shardul Thakur was included in the 15-man side while Axar Patel was one of the reserves. The other nations have more or less announced their squads and many might not make any changes to their line-up. Here is the full squad of the 16 teams that will be participating in the ICC World T20 2021.
The biggest announcement was Ravichandran Ashwin making a comeback into the side after a gap of four years. India are once again expected to be one of the favorites for the tournament. They will be aiming to give Virat Kohli a fitting farewell as Twenty20 skipper. The Indian side has also been delivered a big boost with MS Dhoni in the side as mentor.
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami
Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Umran Malik, Harshal Patel, Lukman Meriwala, Venkatesh Iyer, Karn Sharma, Shahbaz Ahmed, and K. Gowtham
The UAE was the adopted home of Pakistan cricket when they were in exile from 2009 to 2015. With New Zealand and England withdrawing from the bilateral series, Pakistan will head into the tournament full of anger and determination. They will want to beat India and New Zealand and ensure a repeat of the 2009 success. With Babar Azam recently going past 7000 T20 runs, he will be the Talisman.
Squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan (vice-capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Asif Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Azam Khan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Junior, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hasnain.
Reserves: Usman Qadir, Shanawaz Dahani, Fakhar Zaman
Most of the Australian members are currently in the IPL. But, a fair bit of them missed the tours to Bangladesh and West Indies in which they lost 1-4. Australia has never won the World T20 and they head into the tournament low on confidence.
Squad: Aaron Finch (capt), David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Josh Inglis
Traveling reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams
New Zealand has always punched above their weight in ICC World tournaments. Be it the World Cup or the Champions Trophy, New Zealand has impressed. The Kiwis will be led by Kane Williamson, with Mark Chapman, born in Hong Kong included in the side. New Zealand is in a tough group with India and Pakistan.
Squad: Kane Williamson (capt), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Adam Milne (injury cover)
The two-time World T20 champions will be aiming to defend their title. Their last two titles have come in the Asian sub-continent and this will be no different. Most of the West Indies players have done well in the IPL. However, there is no Sunil Narine, one of the top bowlers in the IPL as he failed a fitness test. West Indies have the power and depth to go all the way in the competition.
Squad: Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran (vice-capt & wk), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher (wk), Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr
Reserves: Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell, Darren Bravo
England will be once again aiming to showcase their limited-overs might in the ICC World T20. Having lost in the final in 2016, they will be determined to ensure they put up a good show. There is no Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer due to mental health reasons and injury respectively. This could dent their campaign in a big way. However, the addition of Tymal Mills, who last played close to seven years ago, could be an X-factor.
Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Travelling reserves: Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, James Vince
The side is recovering from the loss of so many talented players either due to retirement or indiscipline. Sri Lanka will play the qualifiers in order to get into the Super 12.
Squad: Dasun Shanaka (capt), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Charith Asalanka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana
Reserves: Lahiru Kumara, Binura Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Pulina Tharanga
Perhaps the only side that has botched their team selection in a big way. There is no Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, and Chris Morris. Both du Plessis and Morris have done brilliantly in the IPL. Tahir has experience in these conditions but he has not been picked. Temba Bavuma will lead the side while the spin hopes will be on Tabraiz Shamsi.
Squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wk), Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen
Bangladesh are in good form heading into the ICC World T20, having beaten both Australia and New Zealand in the bilateral T20I series before the tournament. Although they will be without Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh still has all the goods to ensure they are the dark horses of the tournament. However, they will have to first qualify for the Super 12 stage, having not finished in the top eight for automatic qualification.
Squad: Mahmudullah (capt), Mohammad Naim, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim Hossain
Reserves: Aminul Islam, Rubel Hossain
Perhaps the most chaotic build-up of all. Rashid Khan was appointed the captain but he stepped down as he had not gotten the team he wanted. The Taliban takeover of the country and the cricket affairs has resulted in a chaotic upheaval in the country.
Squad: Mohammad Nabi (capt), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani, Naveen ul Haq, Asghar Afghan, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Dawlat Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Shapoor Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Qais Ahmad
Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Fareed Ahmad
Ireland will be aiming to make an impact in the ICC world event just like they had done in 2007, 2011, and 2015.
Squad: Andy Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young
There will be some new nations vying for a spot in the Super 12 edition of the ICC World T20. Apart from the likes of Scotland and Ireland who have been regulars, there will be Oman, Papua New Guinea, the Netherlands, and Namibia will be vying to create an upset in the tournament.
The squad includes former Proteas player David Wiese and other players who have played in the South Africa domestic circuit.
Squad: Gerhard Erasmus (capt), Stephan Baard, Karl Birkenstock, Michau du Preez, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Michael van Lingen, David Wiese, Craig Williams, Pikky Ya France
The side has veteran Ryan ten Doeschate in the squad. David Wiese, who played for South Africa in the past, is also there.
Squad: Pieter Seelaar (capt), Colin Ackermann (vice-capt), Philippe Boissevain, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Ben Cooper, Max O’Dowd, Scott Edwards, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Logan van Beek, Stephan Myburgh
Having made their debut in the 2016 edition, Oman will be determined to put up a great show in front of their home fans.
Squad: Zeeshan Maqsood (capt), Aqib Ilyas (vice-capt), Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Ayan Khan, Suraj Kumar, Sandeep Goud, Nestor Dhamba, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan, Naseem Khushi, Sufyan Mehmood, Fayyaz Butt, Khurram Khan
The new entrant into the ICC world stage, PNG will be aiming to put up a great show. The side has made good cricket progress in a short time.
Squad: Assad Vala (capt), Charles Amini, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Nosaina Pokana, Kiplin Doriga (wk), Tony Ura, Hiri Hiri, Gaudi Toka, Sese Bau, Damien Ravu, Kabua Vagi-Morea, Simon Atai, Jason Kila, Chad Soper, Jack Gardner
Scotland has the experience of Kyle Coetzer and Richie Berrington who have achieved success in the format. Josh Davey is a veteran along with Calum Macleod.
Squad: Kyle Coetzer (capt), Richard Berrington (vice-capt), Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Oli Hairs, Michael Leask, Calum Macleod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace (wk), Mark Watt, Brad Wheal
