ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: 11 exciting players to watch out for

Cricket World Cup 2015 will be a keenly followed international sporting event. Fans, cricket lovers and even acerbic critics will be eagerly hooked onto the cricket encounters in a bid to support and root for their favourite side and players.In a thrilling and evenly balanced contest, with some surprising unexpected results, we might be at the outset of seeing some great performances by certain players who are in a league of their own. Here, we take a look at 11 such outstanding talents:NOTE: This list is in no particular order.

#1 Kumar Sangakkara

This will be the last World Cup appearance of a true champion of Sri Lankan cricket, and also true to his style would appear to him as his last attempt to help Sri Lanka regain the sublime taste of glory that they first tasted in 1996. Though he didn't feature in that sterling star cast that fetched the Island nation the most precious crown, in World Cup 2015, Kumar Sangakkara, the prodigious scorer of over 13,300 runs will look to make amends.

A true big stage performer, there isn't a stroke in his batting repertoire that the cricket lover hasn't seen and fallen in love with. The scorer of 20 ODI hundreds and a staggering 91 fifties remains as eager to score heavily today as he was when he first arrived at the big stage. His mere name in the playing eleven will lift Lankan hopes and one will wish the crafty willower to swoon audiences with a rich bouquet of all round strokes that feature the sublime leg glance, the daft late cut and the attractive straight drive.

#2 AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers should now take to the pen, in addition to the bat that he holds so magnificently in his hand. He should author a book called "the fine art of timing", given his self confessed love to play the cover drive and the hit straight down the wicket.

Seldom has a player from South Africa generated so much adulation from contemporaries as de Villiers has, Kallis perhaps being the only other name. The masterful right-hander is as much an accumulator of runs as an inventor. One of the most delightful strokes in his vivid repertoire is the reverse sweep, a tool he so handily uses even against seamers.

De Villiers, the South African ODI cricket captain would be eager to replace the prevailing tag that his team has come to be associated with, especially in big tournaments like the World Cup. He would eye this as an opportunity to bury the choker tag down under and emerge as victors.

A fiery batting lineup that boasts of Amla, Du Plessis and Duminy will revolve around the brilliance of AB, in their bid to exude pressure on every opposition. What will bolster their hopes is an already emphatic record the right-hander boasts in ODI cricket, having already struck 18 hundreds and 42 fifties with a commanding strike rate of 95. He is among the few limited-overs batsmen who have managed an average of over 51 in the 50-over game.

#3 Chris Gayle

There are few better sights in world cricket than seeing the mighty 'Gayle Force' sending a ball out of the ground. And he has been doing it consistently for over a decade. No bowler, regardless of the fact that he bowls over 145 kph looks threatening to the Jamaican giant when he is on song.

Perhaps, the only superstar from the Caribbean since Brian Lara, Gayle who might be playing his final World Cup will be eager to propel Windies' chances of any accentuation depending on his wham-bam stroke-play. It remains to be seen what Morkel, Steyn, Malinga or Johnson can do to stop him since there might not be any other agenda on his mind other than that of giving his team a flying start and playing a mighty hand in constructing challenging totals.

Gayle enjoys a good strike rate of 84, and fresh from his assault on the South Africans, looks in good touch. While Pollard's absence will hurt, he will do all to ensure that all eyes remain on his gangnam style of batting. He will surely look for Samuels, Darren Bravo and Sammy for some company. After all, once he scores merrily, he would require the booty swinging abilities of the Caribbean boys to set the stage on fire.

#4 Mitchell Johnson

Having just had a productive series down under, locking horns with India and more specifically testing the guts of India's celebrated batting line-up that features Virat Kohli, Johnson would be beaming with confidence of coming into his best against some of the most explosive batsmen that shall face up to the lanky left-armer.

He is among the very few bowlers in the game who can win matches on his own, and England got a taste of his extraordinary skills when he won the Ashes almost single-handedly for the Aussies. He is a useful batsman in the lower-order whose lusty hits have often propelled Australia's soaring totals in limited-overs cricket.

With 3 five-wicket hauls and a record that includes 221 wickets, with best figures of 6 for 31, Johnson will be happy to bowl his heart out in a bid to cement Australia's chances of securing glory at their backyard. With sufficient advantage of playing on home pitches, he will test the very best in the business with his rising deliveries, slower bouncers and nearly perfect yorkers, facets with which he has smoked the dust out of oppositions.

It will be interesting to see whether he cleans up more batsmen or the likes of Dale Steyn or Lasith Malinga.

#5 Faf du Plessis

South Africa's go to man for any batting crisis, Faf du Plessis is fast emerging as a lethal threat to upset international bowling attacks. Athletic and eager to make useful contributions to a sterling batting lineup that boasts of big names like Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy, du Plessis's name adds the needed boost to strengthen South Africa's batting finesse.

He already has 3 hundreds and 11 fifties in his one-day career that has only just begun and what separates Faf from his contemporaries is the lad's ability to quickly score runs as and when desired by his side. An incredible runner between the wickets, he is labelled as the "marathon man" in South Africa for possessing an innate ability to dig in when the chips are down.

His consistent scoring in Test cricket over the past couple of years with memorable contributions against India when the visitors toured South Africa in 2013-14 and the more recent showing against the inconsistent Windies have only confirmed added strength to his batting potential. He is fresh from scoring one of the fastest T20 hundreds for the Proteas and would be looking to make a big contribution in the upcoming World Cup.

#6 Virat Kohli

With the retirement of legends like Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid, it seemed Indian cricket was in for a void that would take long to fill but with the subsequent rise of a colossal batting talent called Virat Kohli, Indian cricket fans have so much to look forward to. Never a bloke to bog down in front of any bowling attack, nor a chap who would succumb to chin music or verbal volleys, the brave right-hander has caught popular imagination like a storm.

Kohli, who not only gives it back announcing he is no lame pushover, importantly believes in letting the bat do the talking. Who better than Mitchell Johnson, Lasith Malinga and Dale Steyn to know this? Brutal against the best fast bowlers and attacking against the best of spinners, he has already scored a staggering 21 hundreds and has an outstanding strike rate of 92.

If comparisons with greats like Sachin and Sir Viv Richards weren't enough, the newfound role as India's Test captain has further accentuated the glowing legend of a genius bat in the making. Not many notice his crucial cameo in last year's World Cup final, a knock that prevented a mini batting collapse.

Kohli will be keen to make the most of the grandest stage in international cricket. If India have any realistic chance of defending their glory this year, then they would hope to ride on what can be a potential "Kohli juggernaut".

#7 Sunil Narine

There was a time when West Indian bowling was associated with lanky demon looking players raging at batsmen with an aim to bamboozle their stumps. But, in the modern day version of the game, where one associates entertaining cricket as the greatest value attached to the Windies, Sunil Narine has emerged as the most sought after star from the Caribbean Islands.

The easy going bloke from Trinidad has found an incredible alias owing to his success with off spin bowling; mystery spinner. There is no batsman at the moment who can raise his hands in a bid to have decoded the mystery attached with the amazing spinner.

Where will the slower one come from and where does the straighter one pitch, it is almost impossible to unravel the puzzles being concocted in the clever mind of the youngster. He will be looking to make the most in this year's World Cup and will be looking to keep a tab on batting rates given the 60 deliveries he has to surprise batsmen with. He already has 4 four-wicket hauls in ODIs with best figures of 5 for 27.

#8 Joe Root

Last year at the Oval, the touring Indians got a clear insight into the mature head of this young 'kid'. The 24-year-old tall right-hander struck a magnificent Test ton securing his side an innings victory over the pompous tourists. Being a middle order batsmen, the Yorkshireman doesn't get an opportunity to face too many overs, but given the absence of stars like Cook and Trott, he will be looking to shine at the highest level in what will be his first World Cup appearance for England.

He has the gift of timing and the ability to rotate the strike taking pressure off the batsman at the other end. He has all the makings of being a big contributor to record partnerships and having already played under Alastair Cook, learning from the likes of Jonathan Trott, Eoin Morgan and Ian Bell, he would have honed his skills to cater to England's needs in the most important tournament of 2015.

With 7 fifties and having already stuck 3 hundreds, the fast scorer enjoys a strike rate of 80 and would be setting his sights to make it big this year.

#9 Junaid Khan

Some call him the next Wasim Akram and some are already calling him one of the fastest left-arm seamers in the world, Junaid Khan is a tough nut to crack. He is barely 25 and given his consistent exploits in international cricket has already bagged 75 ODI wickets at a miserly strike rate of 25.

His in-swinging yorkers always carry the 'toe-crushing' threats for batsmen in front and the useful bouncers that he bowls at will, have ensure that the tall bloke has the final laugh and not the willower. He will be Pakistan's trump card adding more substance to the giant pacer Irfan’s bowling and in World Cup 2015, he will eye his first international 5-wicket haul.

#10 Kane Williamson

New Zealand perhaps would be the most self-confident side entering the World Cup at this stage, given the recent form of some of its shining stars. Captain Brendon McCullum who had smashed a triple hundred in the not so distant past versus India, has continued his ton hitting stride, scoring plenty of runs against the Sri Lankans.

Ross Taylor looks in fine touch and the mere sight of their fastest ODI century scorer Corey Anderson makes for an imposing side that can perhaps upset a giant on its day. But, away from the big hitting and glitz, there stands a name; the ever so dependable Kane Williamson.

A gritty right-hander, who has all the shots in the book, looks like another AB de Villiers in the making. He is fresh from scoring a career-best 242 at Wellington, wherein he tired the touring Lankans sticking out for a good 438 deliveries. An important aspect of the promising youngster is his ability to largely play grounded shots.

Putting a high price on his wicket, he is the go-to man the Kiwis will need if they lose early wickets and need a performer who can be the anchor against which a huge score is to be constructed. With 4 hundreds and 13 fifties at a handsome average of 43, Williamson will be eager to show he is 'able' to produce some gems in the upcoming World Cup.

#11 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

One of India's best fast bowling finds, Bhuvi, as he is fondly called will be keen to provide able support to his faster pace partners Ishant Sharma and Mohd. Shami. Understanding the basic principles of fast bowling, the zealous youngster is known for maintaining a tight wicket-to-wicket bowling line and has the ability to quickly adapt his bowling to the varying nature of pitches; fast, slow or bouncy.

He is apt at keeping the batsmen's scoring rates under check and has the uncanny ability to swing the bowl both ways. Silent but resilient, soft spoken and yet loud with economical bowling performances, there cannot be a better stage than the upcoming World Cup for the Meerut-born lad to spruce up some surprises for the batsmen in front. With best bowling figures of 4 for 8, he remains crucial to India's bowling attack in their 15-member squad.