The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday confirmed the squads of the 12 participating teams for the ICC World Twenty20, which gets underway in Sri Lanka on September 18.
India, champions in the inaugural edition in 2007, will have a mixture of youth and experience in the team. The side, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, features thrilling players in the form of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.
Defending champions England will be led by pace bowler Stuart Broad and will feature a strong line-up that includes eight players who were part of their triumph in the last edition in the Caribbean. Off-spinner Graeme Swann tops the ICC T20 bowlers’ rankings while Eoin Morgan tops the ranking charts among the batters.
Hosts Sri Lanka, led by Mahela Jayawardene, will be eager to do well. The 2009 edition finalists, with players like has Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga, will be keen to produce performances, which can lead them into the latter stages of the tournament.
The two teams that qualified for the event, Ireland and Afghanistan, will be anxious to prove their respective places.
Following is the list of the squads:
Afghanistan: Nawroz Mangal (c), Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Izzatullah Dawlatzai, Karim Sadeq, Mohammad Jawed Ahmadi, Mohd Nasim Baras, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Asghar Stanikzai, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Shapur Zadran.
Australia: George Bailey (c), Daniel Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (c), Abdur Razzak, Abul Hasan, Elias Sunny, Farhad Raza, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Nasir Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Zia-ur-Rahman.
England: Stuart Broad (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, L. Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Ashoke Dinda, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh.
Ireland: William Porterfield (c), Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Andrew White, Gary Wilson.
New Zealand: Ross Taylor (c), Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (c), Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat.
South Africa: AB de Villiers (c), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, Jean-Paul Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Pietersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (c), Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Akila Dananjaya, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Jeewan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (c), Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.
Zimbabwe: Brendan Taylor (c), Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Richard Muzhange, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller.
