Ten national teams will participate;
Afghanistan ,
Australia ,
Bangladesh ,
England ,
India ,
Netherlands ,
New Zealand ,
Pakistan ,
South Africa and
Sri Lanka
Two-time champions and the powerhouse of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, West Indies didn’t qualify. Zimbabwe , another familiar face, will be sitting this one out too.
India have home advantage and are the #1 ranked team, history suggests that they should be big favourites.
England will be the biggest threat. Australia and NZ outsiders. SA are potentially dangerous but a few injuries has already dampened the mood around them.
Are you Indian? I don’t recall if you’ve said before.
Obviously it’s not for me to say how you should feel about your home nation, but if you are Indian I’d be much more boyish about your chances of winning the tournament. On paper India are an absolutely fantastic side with ridiculous depth. Like I’ve said before, I genuinely think England are the only side who should really worry you too much, and if they were to be knocked out before the final then it would be a monumental balls up by India not to win the tournament.
On paper , they do have a good side. No real weaknesses either except lack of ability to bat against finger spinners (which is surprising given the history of indian sides but this Indian team (esp Kohli) cannot play spin well. I do think there’s a choke in them though. India are always one of the favs for the world cup but after 2011 , they always seem to lose matches at the crunch time.
I really don’t like ODI cricket as a format though. Part of the reason why I’m indifferent about this world cup.
Pakistan is a seriously good side , my concern is about their mental makeup. Too much effort is concentrated on their match with India. They think too much and overcomplicate the matters there and most likely lose the match. And that loss against India more often than not has a domino effect on their tournament.