The men to watch out for in the World Twenty20

With less than 24 hours to kickstart the proceedings in the third edition of Twenty20 World Cup at the Caribbean, it will be fascinating to keep track of those who will be making their presence felt in the shortest format of the game. With the just concluded Indian Premier League-3 being one of the most talked about events for it’s off-the pitch battles, the Caribbean calypso promises to keep the players and the spectators in high spirits.

With India and Pakistan having tasted success in the first two editions of the event respectively, pundits too are backing the two sub-continent teams to perform exceedingly well. With most of the players coming straight after the gruelling six-week IPL in India, the legs certainly would want demand more rest than an heating outing in the middle of the ground. Here we go with the men to watch out for and why……

1. Sanath Jayasuriya: This grand old man of the world cricket continues to turn up with the same passion and fervour as he did when he made his international debut in 1989. With that bottom hand jabs and crisp drives and running between the wickets and his ability to bowl the slow-balls will stand him in good stead on the slow West Indian wickets.
2. Tillakaratne Dilshan: The man who came up with the ‘dilscoop’ and achieved tremendous success in the last edition of WC in England that took his team all the way till the final hurdle.
3. Shahid Afridi: Much before T20s came into existence; this Pathan had been playing each of his innings as if he wanted to finish off things in a hurry. Once he gets going in the middle, there aren’t many stadiums in the world that can are big enough. With those quick leg-spinners, this Pakistan skipper is more than a handful for any side.
4. Rohit Sharma: For someone whose talent has never been in question, Rohit has begun to convert those cameos into match-winning knocks as seen in IPL-3. He has become more patient in the middle and plays according to the situation, a trait found rare in the batsman these days.
5. Yuvraj Singh: An below-average IPL can in no way mean that this southpaw is out of form. All it takes for the Punjab da puttar is a few overs in the middle to get his bearings right and the cherry-hurlers will have their task cut out.
6. Yusuf Pathan: Yet another batsman with enough promise to send the shivers down the spine of the opponents. He started with a bang in the more than a month long IPL but has been mediocre ever since. Time for the lanky lad from Baroda to make it count.
7. Suresh Raina: Stunning show for the Chennai Super Kings. Both with the ball bat and in the field, Raina has been on song. He hits the ball real hard and has shown that his part-time spin is worth its weight in gold. His electrifying fielding efforts just multiplied the options for his skipper MS.
8. M.S. Dhoni: The man with the midas touch. He has been spot-on and has led by example for a few seasons now. He had an ‘ordinary’ season by his own standards but except the Ranchi lad to make it count on the world stage.
9. Kieron Pollard: The big West Indian had a sedate start for the Mumbai Indians but then achieved his rhythm much to the delight of the Mumbaikars and almost snatched a win for his team in the final against Chennai Super Kings but then……fate had been sealed by the one upstairs by then.
10. Ryan Harris: One man’s injury is another man’s entry. That is what happened with Deccan Chargers’ Ryan Harris who was not in the original squad but was drafted as Brett-forever-injured-Lee injured yet again and flew back to Sydney. Harris has been on song in IPL-3 with the ball and one slow and low pitches, the Aussie could be handy as he mixes it up well and is lethal with his slow-ball.
11. Shane Watson: IPL-1 booked him a ticket to the Australian side and he has managed to cling on it ever since. The all-rounder can be swing things for Michael Clarke both with the willow and with the ball.

Well, there are some stalwarts such as Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor who did not make it to the squad. Can we have more than 11 players in a team? Your guess is as good as mine……….