CRICKET WORLD CUP 2019

Cricket World Cup 2019

Summer of 2019 promises to be a feast for cricket lovers. Just wanted to share my views on this much awaited event.

Below are the 10 teams( in Alphabetical order)  and their full squads.

AFGHANISTAN

Gulbadin Naib (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan and Mujeeb ur Rahman.

AUSTRALIA

Aaron Finch (c), Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey (vc & wk), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

BANGLADESH

Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah Riyad, Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Mohammad Mithun (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed

ENGLAND

Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jos Buttler (vc & wk), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

INDIA

Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik (wk), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja

NEW ZEALAND

Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (wk), Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee (vc), Ross Taylor

PAKISTAN

Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik (vc), Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hasnain

SOUTH AFRICA

Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (vc & wk), David Miller, JP Duminy, Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi

SRI LANKA

Dimith Karunaratne (c), Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis (wk), Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal

WEST INDIES

Jason Holder (c), Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Fabien Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, Ashley Nurse

A lot has changed since Australia lifted that Silverware on March 29, 2015 at MCG. 50 over cricket has gone through so may changes in last decade and a half. With T20 leagues played all around the globe, main attraction for crowds is lean and mean cousin of 50 over format and to an extent rightly so. I mean we have come down to express our emotions from 5 page letters to lengthy text messages to barely one emoji.  Who would want to spend close to 8 hours glued to TV. I will share my thoughts on this in a separate post.

This world cup is going to be played in England … the HOME of cricket. It revived the hopes of semi-traditional enthusiasts of white ball cricket by hosting a very successful and entertaining CT 2017 just couple of summers ago. First good thing is that WC returns to England. Second good thing is the format of this tournament. Every team plays every other team to enter the semi Finals. That is how this tournament should be played moving forward.

I am not going to talk about power play, run out rules, DRS, overrates etc.

I am going to share my views on Semifinal spots and possible Finalists.

Let us start:

Let us begin with Afghanistan

If there is one team that has gained respect of its opponents in a short span of time, it is this team that features Rashid Khan Mohammad Nabi Mohammad Shahzad. These players are match winners on their day. I have a feeling they may cause an upset or two and can make the path of those at receiving end little bit difficult. They may be new entrants but have the potential to spoil some one’s party.

Australia are defending champions. That adds a little bit of pressure. They have not many from that winning team. Warner Smith Finch and Maxwell Starc are there and would love to repeat the result. They have an exciting spinner in Zampa. Warner and Smith will be key players. Maxwell has an important role too. Finch has done well in recent past in white ball formats. With Warner looking hungry for runs Jhye Richardson as X factor Australia will compete hard.

I do see them having a good tournament. If I were to pick one impact player, it has to be Warner.

Bangladesh would be desperate to be one of the teams playing on July 14. They have definitely made some really healthy strides in this format. Some of their key players may be saying good bye to cricket after this world cup if not immediately but in next 1-2 years. Impact player: Tamim Iqbal. There is no doubt he is going to be key wicket for opponents. Yes, Bangladesh has a talented pool of batsmen but no one with Tamim’s class and elegance. Shakib and Rahim are experience powerhouses. Bangladesh will heavily depend on this trio to create key moments in this tournament.

England: Is it coming Home? Well … This is the best 50 over side that England have had in ages. I would say that this probably is their best 50 over side ever not just in terms of talent and skill but also in terms of approach mindset and strategy. Morgan is definitely in TOP 2 captains this WC in my book. Bairstow Roy Root …Solid top 3 Middle order Morgan Buttler Stokes and then you have Woakes Moeen Ali and company. They are sure shot Semi-finalists highly likely finalists and possible champions. Impact player: difficult to pick one here but I will go with Buttler. This is England’s best chance to lay hands on that much wanted silverware and this side has all the ability to do so.

India: CT2017 finalists. Have most of that lot playing again in reasonably familiar conditions. Did they miss a trick by not picking Pant! may be! We will find out. I thought he was unlucky to miss out. With MSD behind the wickets, he may not have featured in playing XI in most of the games but he is a powerful hitter and clean striker of the ball. Dinesh Karthik has more experience and probably the right choice as back up. Vijay Shankar on the other hand has won the trust and backing of Indian selectors. Impact player: Virat Kohli 110 %. He may not be in my Top 2 captains but he is definitely in my Top 2 batsmen in this tournament. The other one is Warner.  Virat is best batsman in the world , most definitely in this format and by some distance among his contemporaries. Bumrah is going to be a key player as well . Rohit Shikhar and Virat in Top 3. Who comes at 4! We will find out and then we have Pandya and MSD. India too should make it comfortably to  Semifinals and very likely to feature in Finals.

New Zealand: They were finalists in 2015. Williamson features in my top 2 captains of this tournament. Solid batsman. As always NZ has many talented players with multi dimensional skillsets. Ross Taylor may be playing his last WC and will be keen to leave on a high. Guptill is in the same boat. This is one team where you may not be able to pick one impact player as this team delivers mostly as a unit with symmetrical contributions. Kane Williamson will be the impact player. NZ should make it to SF. What follows from that point may shape a great story of amazing leadership. A story that will live on for a long time.

Pakistan: Winners of CT 2017. A repeat of that result will not just be writing the history but will leave an indelible mark on their cricketing history. They have not picked Amir who was pioneer of their victory in finals couple of years ago but they have Zaman. Sarfaraz is a smart captain. A lot will depend on him not just as captain but also as a WK batsman. Their bowling unit does not look as threatening. Impact player: Zaman. He will have good memories of CT2017. Pakistan have arrived early and he has already scored a 100.  As always difficult to predict their journey. Last time when each team played every other team, they lifted the trophy. They can surprise many and more importantly they may surprise themselves.

South Africa: After that Klusener Donald mix-up in 1999, SA has not come closer to win this ever-elusive trophy. This time they do not have any pressure. They enter as underdogs but I feel that this squad looks pale in comparison to their past sides. Faf is a good captain but he has not really a multi dimensional skillset in his resource pool. Impact player: Rabada. Rapid rise in reputation as a fast bowler. If SA enters SF, Rabada would have featured as a major contributor.

Sri Lanka: Almost same story as South Africa. The squad comes with many ex captains. Lots of issues in recent past. Will rely on Angelo Matthews and Malinga heavily as those two are most experienced ones. Their recent success in test arena in SA should inspire them. Impact player: Angelo Matthews. A lot has happened in SL cricket in past 4 years and most of  it has revolved around him. He would love to leave an impression on this tournament.

West Indies: The cricket administration .. players attitudes. viewership .. troubled waters all along to feature in this World cup but here they are. Jason holder and his men are more than capable of making a mockery of any team on their day. Gayle will be playing his last WC and would be hungry to smack that little white cricket ball in to the stands not just to entertain the crowds but to say bye as Universe boss. If he gets going, bowlers will not be making eye contact with their skippers. Hetmyer another key pillar in their batting lineup.It will be all pepper and spice with no sugar with Andre Russell in the house as master chef. Impact player: Andre Russell.

In whatever cricket I have watched / followed in last 30 years or so, I have only found two batsman that can get you over the line with targets that are mathematically possible to chase in last 5 overs. First one is Klusener. He almost scripted history for SA. He was player of the tournament in 1999. If Russell ends up being player of the tournament in 2019, rest assured West Indies will end up on the other side of result that SA got.

So, England India and NZ should definitely be playing in Semi Finals.

Australia / WI / Pakistan: any one of these 3 teams should be the 4^th one with Australia edging out the other 2 in all probability.

For those who have marked their calendars with an alarm at 5 AM EST to follow England / India or NZ final, I am on the same page. Hope the cricket we watch in England is enthralling and help 50 over cricket get to better future.