ICC Champions Trophy - The World Cup of champions is here

The World cup of Champions, or the ICC Champions Trophy, as it is famously called, is back for its final edition. It will be played in England and Wales. 8 major teams will battle it out for the crown of ‘champions of the world’.

South Africa and England will start as favourites, looking at the team balance and also the conditions. But again, the tournament is such that no one team is expected to dominate. Teams like Australia, India, Sri Lanka and West Indies will hope that their youngsters are up for the challenge.

India will have a lot to prove as their performance overseas has been dismal in the last two years. Also, the dropping of senior players like Gambhir, Sehwag and Yuvraj has left much of the batting inexperienced and the selection of under-performers like Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma has not come without questions. But the selectors will be hoping that they can silence their doubters. India will also have an inexperienced top order with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay; Kohli at 3 has also played just 5 ODIs in England. Another crucial factor will be that this will be India’s first major ODI tournament without Sachin Tendulkar. He will surely be missed both on and off the field.

South Africa look one of the strongest sides despite being without key players like Jacques Kallis, who has opted out for personal reasons and former captain Graeme Smith, who is nursing an ankle injury. They will also be under pressure because of their tendency to choke at crucial stages in big tournaments. AB de Villiers will hope he is the lucky one to guide them to their first major ICC trophy. Their squad still looks great with bowlers like Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. Batting order will comprise of Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and also the latest IPL sensation, David Miller. On paper, they look like the team to beat and will also be hoping to give Gary Kirsten a good farewell gift as he leaves his position as their head coach after the tournament.

Australia’s hope will rest on the performance of their skipper Michael Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson. These will be the key players around whom their batting will revolve. Their bowling attack still looks strong with the likes of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, who will have a point to prove after being dropped from the Ashes squad. This will also be their last chance to have a look at the conditions before the important Ashes series where England will start as overwhelming favourites.

England’s squad looks the strongest and they can surely lift the cup in front of their home crowd. Home pressure is something they will have to deal with. They will surely miss the flamboyant Kevin Pietersen but their squad is capable enough to deal with his loss. An able leader in Alastair Cook along with the experience of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ian Bell as well as youngsters like Joe Root, Jos Butler and Chris Woakes makes them firm favourites.

Sri Lanka will hope to break their jinx of ICC tournaments. They have reached the finals thrice in the last four tournaments but have been on the losing side on all three occasions. They have a new leader in Angelo Matthews whose captaincy in the recently concluded IPL has been so dismal that Aaron Finch replaced him halfway through the tournament. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will be there to guide him although their own form has been a cause of concern in recent times. Bowling attack will be led by one of the best limited overs bowler, Lasith Malinga.

West Indies will look to build on the success of the T20 World Cup. They have few of the biggest hitters of the game in the form of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Marlon Samuels. Sunil Narine will also play a crucial role for them although he may not find the conditions suitable for spin, which he had in IPL. There will be change in the captaincy front this time as Dwayne Bravo will lead the team for the first time.

Pakistan and New Zealand will start as the dark horses as they most often do. Both have a squad capable of beating any of the other teams. Pakistan has always performed well in major tournaments and their fast bowlers will again hold the key as to how far they can go in this one. New Zealand will be familiar with the conditions as they will head into the tournament straight after a series against England. They will hope that Ross Taylor is able to sort out his differences with the team and is able to fire because his presence will be crucial in the middle order. Brendon McCullum will be another crucial player for them

The tournament will be played in group and knockout format. There will be two groups of four teams and top two teams of each group will play in the semifinals. Group A consists of the hosts England, Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Group B includes South Africa, India, Pakistan and West Indies.

The opening game will see India take on South Africa on June 6th. Other important clashes are India vs Pakistan on June 15th and England vs Australia on June 8th. Semifinals will be played on 19th and 20th June in Oval and Cardiff respectively before the final on the 23rd at Edgebaston. This will also be the first time when Wales get to host an international tournament.

Champions trophy promises to be a great tournament and indeed a clash of the champions!