2015 Cricket World Cup: Participating Nations In Pool B

Get to know more about the participating nations in Group B of the 2015 Cricket World Cup. Australia and New Zealand will be the hosts of the 11th edition of the tournament, which will happen from Feb. 14 to March 29. The matches will be played in 14 venues - seven in Australia (Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Perth, and Melbourne) and the other seven will be staged in New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson, and Wellington).

A collective prize money worth $10 million is to be given away by International Cricket Council (ICC). The winner will take home $3.795 million while the runner-up will get $1.75 million. The losing nations in the semifinals and quarterfinals will get $600,000 and $300,000, respectively. The nations eliminated in group stages will get $35,000 apiece.

India

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, and Umesh Yadav.

Captain: Ms Dhoni

ICC One Day International (ODI) Rank: Second

ICC Test Rank: Seventh

The Indian team is the current champion. They also won in 1983. Kohli, in addition to Kumar and Shami will be the key players that could lead the team to another trophy this year.

Ireland

Squad: William Porterfield, Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson, and Craig Young.

Captain: William Porterfield

ICC ODI Rank: 12th

ICC Test Rank: N/A

Ireland will be spearheaded by veteran Porterfield under the guidance of former West Indies All-Rounder Phil Simmons. Kevin O’Brien, who led Ireland to victory over England in 2011, is another player to watch out for. In addition to Kevin, Ireland could rely on Niall O’Brien, Alex Cusack, and Ed Joyce, who was amazing last season. There is very good chance that Ireland could make it in the quarters.

Pakistan

Squad: Misbah-Ul-Haq, Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Younis Khan, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Irfan, Ehsan Adil, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, and Nasir Jamshed.

Captain: Misbah-Ul-Haq

ICC ODI Rank: Sevent

ICC Test Rank: Fourth

Pakistan won in 1992. The question is, will they be able to repeat their performance 23 years ago?

Pakistan has always been present in all previous Cricket World Cups. The team has won 36 out of 64 matches in the completion up-to-date. They will bank on the experience of captain Misbah-Ul-Haq in addition to Shehzad and Younis to progress in the competition. Pakistan will begin its campaign against India on Feb. 15.

South Africa

Squad: AB De Villiers, Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton De Kock, JP Duminy, Francois Du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, and Dale Steyn.

Captain: AB De Villiers

ICC ODI Rank: Third

ICC Test Rank: First

South Africa is a three-time semifinalist (1992, 1999, and 2007). They have a tremendous line up of players, which include World’s No. 1 rated ODI batsman De Villiers, Amla, and Kohli. They also have the best fast bowler in Steyn and Tahir, in addition to 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman De Kock.

West Indies

Squad: Jason Holder, Marlon Samuels, Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor, and Nikita Miller.

Captain: Jason Holder

ICC ODI Rank: Eighth

ICC Test Rank: Eighth

The West Indies have fallen a long way after their back-to-back victories in 1975 and 1979 and a final appearance in 1983. Currently, they are at the eighth spot of both ICC ODI and Test ranking, just above lowly-ranked Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Ireland. The West Indies will open their campaign Down Under against the Irish on Feb. 16.

United Arab Emirates

Squad: Mohammad Taqir, Khurram Khan, Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Andri Berenger, Fahad Alhashmi, Manjula Guruge, Kamran Shazad, Krishna Chandran, Mohammad Naveed, Nasir Aziz, Swapnil Patil, Rohan Mustafa, Saqlan Haider, and Shaiman Anwar.

Captain: Mohammad Taqir

ICC ODI Rank: N/A

ICC Test Rank: N/A

United Arab Emirates will only be playing for its second World Cup appearance. Their first match will be against Zimbabwe on Feb. 17