World Cup 2019: 5 things that the fans are excited to see at the mega event this year

4. Can Afghanistan do any damage?

Afghanistan Cricket Team

Afghanistan have beaten West Indies during the World Cup Qualifiers and have dispatched Bangladesh regularly in T20s. They even tied against India in the Asia Cup last year, and have now defeated Pakistan in the warm-up match.

In the last edition of the World Cup, Afghanistan were in the category of teams that would roll over in front of the bigger teams. But this year will likely be different.

I am not expecting them to qualify for the semifinals, but they will definitely make things difficult for other teams. Their spinners, in particular, will pose a major threat to the teams like South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies, who have been vulnerable to spinners in recent years.

Mohammad Shahzad can destroy any bowling attack on his day and they now have two solid middle order batsmen in Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi.

If they are able to play well as a team, the chances are they can at least win 2 or 3 matches this year.

5. Will audience interest be retained throughout the long tournament?

Fans during India v New Zealand – ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Warm Up

While most of the veterans and commentators have praised it, I am not a fan of this format. 46 days and 48 match tournament is too long for me, especially since 45 of those matches will take place in the group stage over 39 days.

In contrast, the football World Cup has 48 matches in the group stage in 3 weeks before moving on to the knockout phase.

The question has to be asked: will the tournament be able to hold the interest of the audience without many do-or-die matches? Almost all the group stage matches are sold out. But the TV ratings might dip during the course of the event.