Champions Trophy 2017: Preview of all 8 participating teams

(Photo Source: Twitter) 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. Sri Lanka Sri Lanka were stunned by Scotland in their practice game in the lead up to the Champions Trophy. However, that cannot take anything away from the fact that they have fielded a very strong squad for the tournament. The Islanders will be led by Angelo Mathews with Upul Tharanga as his deputy. Sri Lanka are going through a transition phase and the youngsters have big boots to fill. Exciting young talent like Asela Gunaratne and Seekkuge Prasanna have made giant strides in their international careers thus far. They have the ability to use the long handle. Sri Lanka will play their first game against South Africa on June 3. Their next game of the tournament will be against the defending champions India on June 8 and will play Pakistan on June 12. Pakistan The Pakistani team arrived in England well in advance to hit the practice sessions hard this time around. The new look Pakistan side had inflicted series wins against West Indies in their most recent international tour. Sarfraz Ahmed will be leading the team with Ahmed Shehzad being his deputy. Young all-rounder Shadab Khan has made a flying start to his career and will have all eyes on him. Other youngsters like Fakhar Zaman and Fahim Ashraf will also wait to get an opportunity. There is no dearth of experience in the team either. In the bowling department, they have the services of Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, and Junaid Khan. The batting looks more experienced with Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, and Umar Akmal being the prominent names. Haris Sohail will be making his comeback after a long break. Pakistan will start their campaign against the arch-rivals India on June 4 at Birmingham. New Zealand The New Zealand team has often ended up choking in the knockout stages of the ICC events. This time around, they would want to come up with much-improved performances. Their skipper, Kane Williamson, has been leading from the front in the recent times. The black caps had a decent time in the Ireland tri-series and they managed to register some big wins against Ireland and Bangladesh. The defeat in the last game will haunt them though. Considering the squad that they have, they will back themselves to come good this season. Tom Latham has got back to form which will be a big sigh of relief for them. In the middle order, the likes of James Neesham, Williamson, Neil Broom, and Ross Taylor, have all got runs under their belt in the recent past. Colin de Grandhomme and Corey Anderson had a good time in the IPL recently and they will take the all-rounders’ role in the team. Australia The Australian team seems to have conquered it all in the history of the game. But the one mega ODI trophy that eludes them since 2009 is the Champions Trophy. They will be itching to get their hands on the trophy this time around under the leadership of Steve Smith. Smith is yet to guide the Aussie side to a big series win in his captaincy career. The squad looks good with openers David Warner and Aaron Finch being in fine form. Warner, Chris Lynn, Smith, Travis Head, and Moises Henriques had a good season in the IPL and will be riding high on the confidence. The opening slot could have caused conundrums with Lynn showing interest. However, head coach Darren Lehmann has hinted that the team will stick to Warner-Finch pair. The USP of the team is their bowling lineup that boasts of four heavyweight pacers. All of them are raring to unleash at the big event. South Africa Team South Africa were the winners of the inaugural edition of the tournament that was named as the ICC Knockout Trophy. Since then, they have failed to leave an impact on any global ICC event, let alone the Champions Trophy. This time around, skipper AB de Villiers has expressed his hunger to do well in the tournament. The squad looks fairly balanced with newcomers joining hands with the veterans. The batting looks firm on paper. The experience of AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, and JP Duminy in the middle order sets up the deal for the Proteas batting lineup with Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock being seasoned openers. The team has found two in-form all-rounders in Wayne Parnell and Chris Morris. The absence of Dale Steyn might be felt but Morne Morkel would want to reestablish his claims in the lineup. He will have the support of Kagiso Rabada, who will be fresh from his IPL stint this season. England It comes as no surprise to see why England are being tipped to be the favorites for the tournament. Being the hosts, they surely will have the home advantage going their way. Ever since the 2015 World Cup, if there has been a team that has scored more than 350 in ODIs on a consistent basis, then it is England. They have done it on 8 occasions. Eoin Morgan has been in sublime form and would be leading from the front. The destructive opening duo of Alex Hales and Jason Roy will be tough to crack for the opposition bowlers. In the lower middle order, they boast of hard-hitting all-rounders like Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, and Chris Woakes. Add a certain Jos Buttler to the lineup and the firepower only increases an inch more. In the bowling department, the names might look new but are very effective. Mark Wood, Jake Ball, and Liam Plunkett would want to contribute in the tournament. India The defending champions India will enter into the tournament without any international limited overs practice in their last couple of months of play. All players were involved in the IPL and will want to adapt to the conditions and formats soon. Skipper Virat Kohli has had a lean patch in the recent times but in the Indian colors, he goes into a different mode altogether. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have fond memories of the tournament. Dhawan, in particular, had a dream run in the 2013 edition. This could be his second coming. In the middle-order, they have the experience of Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, who have turned into destructive finishers in the recent times. As skipper Kohli rightly pointed out, the addition of Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya has balanced the side more. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be lethal. In the pace department, the team looks in ominous state. Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are proven death overs specialists. Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav have been perennial performers with the new ball.

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Champions Trophy 2017: Preview of all 8 participating teams

Here is a preview of all the teams participating in the major ICC tournament.

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