England who were runners up in the 1992 world cup, announced their cricket world cup squad on Wednesday 7th January and there was very few surprises. Former captain Alistair Cook was publicly dropped and was replaced as captain by Eoin Morgan as sports fan will know, Gary Balance is the man to take the England test captains place.
Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes is another player to miss out after disappointing in recent games for England – but as is the way with disappointments the 23 year old Stokes blasted an impressive 77 off just 37 balls for his new Australian club side the Melbourne Renegades the day he got omitted from England’s world cup side.
As for Pakistan (the side who beat England in that 1992 final) , the announcement of their cricket world cup squad brought a few surprises , the absence of experienced paceman Umar Gul, will no doubt raise eyebrows.Another experienced bowler, off spinner Saed Ajmal already was announced as an absentee for Pakistan’s world cup squad as the 34 year old already declared his unavailability on 28th November. The talented Akmal brothers both miss out – but Kamran Akmal’s inconsistency with his wicketkeeping has ultimately lead the Pakistani selectors to keep faith in current custodian of the wicketkeeping gloves Sarfraz Ahmed. Ahmed’s performances with the bat in recent months does justify the Pakistani’s decision to stick with the 27 year old wicket- keeper batsmen.
Sri Lanka who won the world cup in 1996 announced their squad which included the least surprises. Paceman Lasith Malinga who has recurring knee problems is included – but subject to fitness. The Asian side will be captained by Angelo Matthews as usual with Lahiru Thirimanne as vice-captain.Veterans Kumar Sangakarra and Mahela Jaywardena are included in what will most likely be their last world cup, and both will no doubt be wanting to go out on a high.
England’s 15 man cricket world cup squad :
Eoin Morgan (capt),Jos Buttler (wk) , Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad,, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan,), Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
Pakistan’s 15 man cricket world cup squad:
Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Ehsan Adil, Haris Sohail, Junaid Khan,, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan,Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal,Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younus Khan.
Sri Lanka’s 15 man cricket world cup squad:
Angelo Mathews (capt), Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga (subject to fitness), Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sachithra Senanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne.
The Bearded Captain 