Champions Trophy 2017: Preview of all 8 participating teams

The 2017 edition of the Champions Trophy is all set to get underway. The tournament has been the second most coveted event in the ODI format of the game in the world cricket after the World Cups. Over the years, the tournament has grown in stature with more and more competitive games coming to the fore. This year, the tournament promises to be a bigger and a grander affair than ever before.

Champions Trophy 2017 will be hosted by England. Interestingly, the previous edition of the tournament was also hosted by the same country back in the year 2013. Back then, it was the MS Dhoni-led Indian team that had toppled the hosts in the finals to register an emphatic win. Things have come a long way since then and the teams have evolved as better outfits in the last four years.

South Africa and England will be coming out with a thorough brash and brutal brand of cricket. Team India will be under the leadership of Virat Kohli for the first time in a mega event. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will have revamped units to work with as they are going through a transition phase. Pakistan, New Zealand, and Australia will try to come up with a better show in the Champions Trophy.

Here we look at the team previews of the 8 participating teams in the tournament. The 8 teams have been divided into two pools of 4 teams each. A total of 12 matches will be played in the group stages this season before the action moves to the semi-finals and final. Here is a look at the 8 teams:

Bangladesh

Team Bangladesh will be making a comeback to the CT roster after having missed out on the bus in the 2009 and 2103 editions of the tournament. They will be led by Mashrafe Mortaza. The team would be riding sky high after their recent heroics during their Sri Lanka tour. However, they missed out on continuing the good show in the Ireland tri-series in the initial part. But the way they beat New Zealand in the final game will certainly bolster their spirits.

The team boasts of a very strong bowling lineup with Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, and Rubel Hossain in the pace department. Mehedi Hasan and Sunzamul Islam are the two young spinners in the squad who will have to step up to the occasion. The batting looks decent with Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar being in good form in the top order. The experience of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan will aid their cause too.