The bells are ringing, the fans are getting restless, the chants are prepared as the ICC World T20 2016 have already started!
The qualifying games and the warm up matches are being held in full swing as the teams gear up for the T20 extravaganza.
India play New Zealand in the opening game of the ICC World T20 2016 at the Vidarbha Cricket Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday, March 15.
But before that, let us take a look at all the squads of the ICC World T20:
India: Being the hosts, India are the firm favourites to win this prestigious trophy for the second time under the leadership of MS Dhoni yet again. They did it in the inaugural edition of the ICC World T20 in 2007 in South Africa, and Dhoni & co. are desperate to do it again here at their own soil.
India squad for ICC World T20: MS Dhoni (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh.
South Africa: They are probably the dark horse of the tournament. They came to India last year and handed them a whitewash in this format of the game. However, South Africa are not going to meet India before the semi-finals for sure as they have both been pitted in different groups. Faf du Plessis and his men constitute a dangerous side and they are a serious threat to all the teams in this T20 competition.
South Africa squad for ICC World T20: Faf du Plessis (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, David Wiese.
Pakistan: Although they are not being considered as even one of the favourites because of their current run of form, Shahid Afridi and co. does have the arsenal to win the ICC World T20 2016. It is just that they need to play as a team to yield positive results. They arguably have the best bowling line-up in the tournament.
Pakistan squad for ICC World T20: Shahid Afridi (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Imad Wasim, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Amir, Mohammed Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Sami, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shoaib Malik, Sharjeel Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.
Australia: The Aussies have won all possible tournaments apart from this. They did not have a good time playing the shortest format of the game in recent times. However, a T20 series win against South Africa will give them a major boost ahead of the big-ticket event.
Australia squad for ICC World T20: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Nevill (wk), Andrew Tye, Shane Watson, Adam Zampa.
Afghanistan: They came with a belief that they are surely going to make it to the main stage of the ICC World T20 after they failed to qualify for the Asia Cup T20. They smoked their opponents in the ICC World T20 qualifiers and have made it to the Group A, where they will join the likes of South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and England. The top teams should watch out for this minnow as they can cause an upset or two.
Afghanistan squad for ICC World T20: Asghar Stanikzai (c), Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafiqullah Shafiq, Shapoor Zadran, Usman Ghani.
England: Eoin Morgan and company have a very strong and experienced T20 side. They have won it once before and it will take a herculean effort from all the boys in orange to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Some serious hitters and seasoned T20 bowlers form this squad. Well, one may not be surprised if they make it to the final four.
England squad for ICC World T20: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid. Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey.
New Zealand: One of the most dangerous sides in this big-ticket event are the Kane Williamson-led Kiwis. They have had a wonderful run in this format of the game and they will want to make it big this year just like they did in the ICC World Cup 2015 in Australia. A very under-rated squad that can cause some serious havoc in this tournament!
New Zealand squad for ICC World T20: Kane Williamson (c), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Luke Ronchi (wk), Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
Bangladesh: The Bangla Tigers have made it to the main stage of the ICC World T20 2016. They thrashed Oman in the last qualifying match, Sunday. They are definitely a force to reckon with in the sub-continental conditions and thier opponents should not take them lightly. They have caused upsets in the past and they will be desperate to add some more to that list in this tournament.
Bangladesh squad for ICC World T20: Mashrafe Mortaza (c), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Sabbir Rahman, Mahmudullah Riyad, Nasir Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Arafat Sunny, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Abu Hider.
Sri Lanka: Defending champions -- so to say. Sri Lanka have been in shambles in this format of the game recently and to bounce back from there and retain the trophy will take a serious effort from this Angelo Mathews-led side. A cohesive effort and one big win is what they need to be what they usually are in the sub-continental conditions.
Sri Lanka squad for ICC World T20: Lasith Malinga (c), Angelo Mathews, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Niroshan Dickwella, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardena, Jeffrey Vandersay.
Last but not the least,
West Indies: The Caribbeans have fared poorly in the other two formats of the international game. T20 cricket can revive their lost glory and the kind of players they have in their squad, they can put up some serious shows in this tournament. All the players will need to be at their very best in order to make it big. Darren Sammy will have to lead from the front.
West Indies squad for ICC World T20: Darren Sammy (c), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Evin Lewis, Jerome Taylor.
