The ICC Champions Trophy 2017 will begin on Thursday, with eight teams vying for the coveted trophy. Considering this is a tournament of the eight top ranked sides in the world, each and every squad will be filled with match-winners, capable of lighting up the CT with their performances with bat or ball.
England as hosts will have plenty of expectations from this tournament, but they will be given a tough test by the rest of the seven teams.
The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four, with the top two from each pool making it to the semifinals, from which it will be a straight knockout.
Here is a look at the squads of all eight teams in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
Group A:
England:
Squad: Eoin Morgan (C), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (WK), Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
A pretty strong squad, and you can understand why England are the pre-tournament favourites.
They have openers in Alex Hales and Jason Roy, who can destroy any bowling attack. And then a long, long batting lineup, filled with match-winners.
England also have the man who could potentially light up the Champions Trophy with bat and ball in Ben Stokes. There is a slight injury cloud hanging over the exciting all-rounder, but if Stokes finds his range in this Champions Trophy, then England will go a long way.
The hosts' bowling attack is also pretty strong, with Chris Woakes leading the fast bowling pack, while Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are pretty handy spinners in this format.
Australia:
Squad: Steve Smith (C), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (WK), Adam Zampa.
Australia's success will depend on Steve Smith and David Warner and their fast bowlers coming to the fore. The Aussies have a scary bowling attack in Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, but it remains to be seen if they will unleash all four of them together.
Smith has been in ridiculous form of late, and while England is not exactly Warner's favourite hunting ground, expect the left-hander to get the Aussies up and running at the top.
New Zealand:
Squad: Kane Williamson (C), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jimmy Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi (WK), Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
The Kiwis are always underestimated in such tournaments, and yet they invariably go deep. While there are no obvious superstars in the squad, apart from Kane Williamson, New Zealand have a pretty balanced squad. Much will depend on how well their batsmen do in these conditions, because you feel the likes of Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be pretty effective with the ball.
Bangladesh:
Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mehedi Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim (WK), Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Sunzamul Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Plenty of match-winners in that squad, like Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. But the lack of experience in such a pressured tournament might give them problems, along with the conditions, especially if the ball moves around, like it did in the warm-up game against India.
Group B:
India:
Squad: Virat Kohli (C), R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammed Shami, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Umesh Yadav.
A strong squad, however you look at it.
Virat Kohli is a magnificent one-day player, and India have two openers who won them the Champions Trophy last time in Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.
Add the experience of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh and you have a formidable batting lineup.
The bowling is where India are usually let down. Not anymore.
All four pacers have been brilliant in the warm-up matches for India and look ready for action, while in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja they have two of the best spinners in the world, even if they might not be at their best in coloured clothing.
South Africa:
Squad: AB de Villiers (C), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (WK), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada.
Any team that has AB De Villiers in it must be one of the favourites. South Africa have all the strength in the world in this squad, it is just about finding a way to deal with the pressure and playing to their potential when the chips are down.
Pakistan:
Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (C & WK), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz.
Pakistan will rely on their bowling a lot in this ICC Champions Trophy, because their batting doesn't exactly fill anyone with confidence. Yes, there is talent in there, but the lack of experience in much of the squad might prove to be the difference.
Sri Lanka:
Squad: Angelo Mathews (C), Upul Tharanga, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Nuwan Pradeep, Asela Gunaratne, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lakshan Sandakan.
It is a little weird to look at this SL squad and see very few world-class names. Apart from Angelo Mathews and Lasith Malinga, there really isn't anyone there who is going to scare you, and even those two are not exactly at the peak of their powers.
