THE fifth edition of the World T20 — the premier cricket tournament for 20-over cricket — is all set to kick off tomorrow (March 16), in Bangladesh, with as many as record 16 teams participating. While there are some sides that have won the event in the past — Pakistan, India, England and the West Indies — this edition will provide others a chance to rule the world of cricket of the shorter kind.

Let’s take a look at the participating teams, their strength, their weaknesses and above all, their ability to surprise the opposition on the day it matters the most.

Preview — World T20

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THE men in green feel at home when playing T20 cricket. They not only won the second edition of the event but also qualified for the knockout stage of the first three World T20 tournaments.

Captain: Mohammad Hafeez

Winners: 2009

Runners up: 2007

Players to watch out for:

• Mohammad Hafeez – The Pakistan T20 captain is the top all-rounder in the world at the moment. He not only excels as an opening batsman but is handy with the new ball as well.

• Ahmed Shehzad – The explosive opening batsman is in excellent form and helped his side reach the final of the recently concluded Asia Cup.

• Saeed Ajmal – The never-say-never attitude of the always smiling Saeed Ajmal makes him one of the deadliest bowlers in the world right now. He can bowl the off spin, the doosra that goes the other way, and has many other stock deliveries in his arsenal.

• Shahid Afridi – When he is good, he is very, very good. Shahid Afridi was the man who steered Pakistan towards victory in the 2009 edition of World T20. He is back in form as a batsman … so beware!

Strength: Abundance of quality all-rounders make Pakistan a side to reckon with!

Weaknesses: The Pakistanis rarely hit the stumps while fielding, they (including the wicket keeper) drop more catches than they hold onto and most of them are lazy in the field. If Pakistan doesn’t win the trophy, it will be due to their fielding alone!

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West Indies

THE West Indian cricket team performs exceedingly well when they are least expected to win, and they will give their best to defend the title they claimed two years back by defeating Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.

Captain: Darren Sammy

Winners: 2012

Runners up: Never

Players to watch out for:

• Chris Gayle

• Dwayne Bravo

• Marlon Samuels

• Sunil Narine

Strength: The West Indians love cricket and play it the way they want. Chris Gayle helped his team win the title a couple of years back, and he is once again in the side. Who knows what he will do now!

Weaknesses: They are one of the most unpredictable sides in the world. When they collapse, they fall like ten pins and lose matches from comfortable positions.

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Australia

THEY may have won the 50-over World Cup on four separate occasions, but Team Australia hasn’t been able to lift the trophy yet in the Twenty20 format. Who knows this year they might break the jinx under George Bailey.

Captain: George Bailey

Winners: Never

Runners up: 2010

Players to watch out for:

• Aaron Finch

• Brad Hogg

• David Warner

• Glenn Maxwell

• Mitchell Johnson

Strength: The Australians rarely drop a catch in the field; they are usually accurate in nailing down the stumps and their morale is all-time high since beating South Africa in South Africa last month.

Weaknesses: Aussies are known to be overconfident and that’s something they need to tone down if they are to win the T20 title.

Bangladesh

BANGLADESH may not be world beaters but when they are playing at home, in front of thousands of supporters, they are a formidable side. They may have lost to Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, but in the very next match, they scored 326 runs against eventual finalists, Pakistan.

Captain: Mushfiqur Rahim

Winners: Never

Runners up: Never

Players to watch out for:

• Amanul Haque

• Imrul Kayes

• Mominul Haq

• Shakil Al Hasan

Strength: The Bangladeshis can give any team a run for their money on their day, and have hard hitting batsmen in their line-up who can score quickly in the final overs.

Weaknesses: Their lacklustre fielding and inaccurate bowling has cost them many a match, and if they are to do well in the event, they will have to improve immensely.

England

THE only tournament England has ever won is the World Twenty20 and they will try to prove that their win four years back was no fluke.

Captain: Stuart Broad

Winners: 2010

Runners up: Never

Players to watch out for:

• Eoin Morgan

• Joe Root

• Jos Butler

• Ravi Bopara

Strength: They have a bunch of talented cricketers who can bat as well as bowl, while their fielding is always top notch.

Weaknesses: Without Kevin Pietersen, England has a suspect middle order that might click or might not click when it matters the most.

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India

THE winners of the inaugural World T20 lost to Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, but they were playing without their Super Captain MS Dhoni, who is now back in the team. If anyone can lead India to victory, it’s Dhoni.

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Winners: 2007

Runners up: Never

Players to watch out for:

• Mohammad Shami

• Ravindra Jadeja

• Shikhar Dhawan

• Virat Kohli

• Yuvraj Singh

Strength: The depth in India’s batting makes it one of the most dangerous sides in the world. They are the reigning World Champions (ODI Cricket) as well as the winners of the last ICC Champions’ Trophy, so Dhoni will not mind adding another trophy to his shelf.Weaknesses: Indian bowling is not as formidable as its batting; hence they usually lose matches because of their bowlers – especially pacers. If India is to win, the fast bowlers will have to step up.

New Zealand

NOB ODY labelled them as favourites when they featured in the Champions’ Trophy in 2000, yet they came out as victors. Same is the case with the New Zealand cricket team in World T20 2014, and their unpredictability is their biggest weapon.

Captain: Brendon McCullum

Winners: Never

Runners up: Never

Players to watch out for:

• Brendon McCullum

• Corey Anderson

• Kyle Mills

• Ross Taylor

Strength: When you have Brendon McCullum in the side, it is the opposition that does the worrying. The Kiwis may not seem formidable on paper but they have the ability to rise when the chips are down.

Weaknesses: They lost to Bangladesh in an ODI series a few years back and that will keep haunting them even in the T20 format since it’s the same ground, same crowd – more or less.

South Africa

FOR a side that has done well in international cricket, South Africa has won too few tournaments. They have just one trophy to their name, and one hopes that they follow their Under 19 cricketers and break the jinx of not winning an international event.

Captain: Faf du Plessis

Winners: Never

Runners up: Never

Players to watch out for:

• Faf du Plessis

• AB de Villiers

• Dale Steyn

• Hashim Amla

• Quinton de Kock

Strength: South Africa has one of the world’s best batsmen (Amla, de Villiers), the fiercest bowler (Steyn) as well as the best fielders in their squad, and it’s about time that they all clicked together.

Weaknesses: The Proteas are known as chokers since they fare badly in the knock out stages of international tournaments. The only time they managed to win a trophy (ICC Knock Out Tournament) was way back in 1998, incidentally in Bangladesh.

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Sri Lanka

LIKE neighbouring India and Pakistan, cricketers in Sri Lanka are the ultimate celebrities, especially after they win a tournament. Fresh from winning Asia Cup in Bangladesh, the islanders will be a force to reckon with in familiar conditions.

Captain: Dinesh Chandimal

Winners: Never

Runners up: 2009, 2012

Players to watch out for:

• Ajantha Mendis

• Angelo Mathews

• Kumar Sangakkara

• Lahiru Thirimanne

• Lasith Malinga

• Mahela Jayawardene

• Thisara Perera

• Tillakaratne Dilshan

Strength: The Sri Lankan side comprises genuine match winners. There is Lahiru Thirimanne and the back-in-the-side Tillakaratne Dilshan at the top, the experienced Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena in the middle order and hard hitters like Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera in the lower order. Spinners Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath strengthen the bowling while a variety of all-rounders chip in with 2 or more overs.

Weaknesses: Dinesh Chandimal, the captain of the side, is the least experienced captain in the tournament. With as many as four former captains playing under him, if the Sri Lankans don’t do well, it will be because the wrong person was named the captain of the ship.

Zimbabwe

CAPTAIN: Brendan Taylor

Players to watch out: Brendan Taylor, Hamilton Masakadza, Brian Vitori, Tendai ChataraStar Performance: Caused an upset when they beat Australia in the inaugural World T20

Afghanistan

CAPTAIN: Mohammad Nabi

Players to watch out: Mirwais Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Asghar Stanikzai

Star Performance: Defeated Bangladesh in the recently concluded Asia Cup, in Bangladesh

Ireland

CAPTAIN: William Porterfield

Players to watch out: Ed Joyce, Kevin O'Brien, Niall O' Brien

Star Performance: Defeated Pakistan in the league match of 2007 World Cup

The Netherlands

CAPTAIN: Peter Borren

Player to watch out: Ahsan Malik

Star Performance: Defeated England in the opening match of the 2009 edition, in England

Hong Kong

CAPTAIN: Jamie Atkinson Player to watch out: Irfan Ahmed

Nepal

CAPTAIN: Paras Khadka

Player to watch out: Sharad Vesawkar

United Arab Emirates

CAPTAIN: Khurram Khan

Player to watch out: Khurram Khan, Amjad Javed

T-20 WORLD CUP FLASHBACK

Year Venue Winner Runner Up Teams

2007 South Africa India Pakistan 12

2009 England Pakistan Sri Lanka 12

2010 West Indies England Australia 12

2012 Sri Lanka West Indies Sri Lanka 12

2014 Bangladesh ? ? 16

INTERESTING FACTS

• Interestingly, ‘cricket’ did not begin its life as so, and is termed ‘creckett’ in its first record. ‘Wicket’ originated from the word meaning small gate and ‘googly’ is so named due to its effect on the batsman’s eyes.

• The batsman defended not three stumps but two until 1775.

• The cricket bat was originally curved; comparable to a dinner knife. In 1746 it was decided that the shape was not conductive to good hitting and favoured the bowler overwhelmingly. Only after this modification was the practice of blocking or stopping adopted in the game.

• The regulations governing the size of the bat were updated after a batsman attempted to play with a bat the same width as the stumps. The width was slimited to four and a quarter inches and has remained so ever since. Interestingly, there is no such restrictions specific to the height of the bat.

• The only law of cricket that has not had any changes or modifications is the length of the pitch.

• The longest cricket match took place in 1939 between England and South Africa, after 14 days it ended with a tie.

• In the West Indies vs. England match at Scarborough, a throw from the boundary by Michael Holding hit one set of stumps and went on to hit the other set. The batsmen were out of their creases but the umpire was too confused to give either ‘out’.

• Mike Gatting had his nose broken by a ball from Malcolm Marshall while batting v West Indies at Kingston in 1986. The ball unfortunately dropped from his nose on to the wicket.

• Because of extremely hot weather, drinks intervals were allowed every two overs in the Australia vs. New Zealand match at Melbourne in January 1988.

• In 1936, a sparrow stops the play when a ball hit it in mid-flight, and killed it. The Sparrow is currently on display at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.

• Cricket has appeared in the Olympics only twice. The first time was in 1896 in Athens, however, there were not enough teams to compete so the competition did not occur. Then, in 1900 at the Paris Olympics, only two teams were able to compete: Great Britain and France. The winner, Great Britain, received the gold medal.

• The only two Test cricketers to play Davis Cup tennis were Cota Ramaswami of India and West Indies wicket-keeper Ralph Legall.