In The Hindu’s countdown to the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup which commences in the West Indies and USA on June 2, we take a look at the teams in Group D.

South Africa: A second-string South African side was swept 0-3 in the T20I series against West Indies a few days ago. The arrival of powerful reinforcements — Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Tristan Stubbs, to name a few — gives the T20 World Cup squad far greater depth.

Quinton de Kock, who has retired from ODI and Test cricket, is a familiar face at the top of the order. The poor form of de Kock and lead pacer Anrich Nortje, however, is cause for concern.

Key player: Tristan Stubbs: With a strike rate of 190.90 and an average of 54 for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2024, Stubbs excelled as a specialist finisher.

The squad:

Aiden Markram (Capt.), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Tristan Stubbs.

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka has won all three of its T20I series held this year, albeit against weaker teams (Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Zimbabwe). The team is led by experienced all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga, who missed the IPL due to an injury. In Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, the Lankans have two quality spinners primed to exploit slow pitches in the West Indies.

Sri Lanka will hope that death-over bowling specialist Matheesha Pathirana recovers quickly from a hamstring strain.

Key player: Kusal Mendis: The 29-year-old opener will be entrusted with giving SL a flying start. His role is especially crucial given that the batting line-up lacks big hitters.

The squad:

Wanindu Hasaranga (Capt.), Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, and Dilshan Madushanka.

Bangladesh: The Tigers had a major slip in the build up to the T20 World Cup, losing 1-2 to World No. 19 United States of America in a T20I series last week. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and coach Chandika Hathurusinghe rely on the same set of players to come good in this mega event.

The unit’s lack of power-hitters is out of sync with modern T20 best practices. A warm-up match against India on June 1 serves as the last chance to get the house in order.

Key player: Mustafizur Rahman: A career-best six for 10 against USA proved that the left-arm seamer remains a valuable T20 asset. Mustafizur’s ability to deliver yorkers is particularly useful in the death overs.

The squad:

Najmul Hossain Shanto (Capt.), Taskin Ahmed, Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tawhid Hridoy, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Jaker Ali Anik, Tanvir Islam, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, and Tanzim Hasan Sakib.

Netherlands: Known to consistently punch above its weight, Netherlands earned its spot in this tournament by virtue of finishing in the top-eight of the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. That campaign included a 13-run win over South Africa in the Super 12 phase, which effectively knocked the Proteas out of the competition.

Netherlands will miss the services of former SA international Roelof van der Merwe and batter Colin Ackermann, both of whom have chosen English county commitments over National duty.

Key player: Max O’Dowd: The Auckland-born opener is the standout batter. In the recent Tri-Nation T20I series involving Ireland, Netherlands, and Scotland, O’Dowd finished as the highest run-scorer.

The squad:

Scott Edwards (Capt.), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O’Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Saqib Zulfiqar, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, Tim Pringle, Vikramjit Singh, Viv Kingma, and Wesley Barresi.

Nepal: Nepal qualified for the 2024 T20 WC by entering the final of the ICC’s Asia region qualifiers in November last year. Nepal had previously appeared in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Apart from the recent five-match T20 leg against West Indies A, Nepal has not got the chance to test its mettle against quality oppositions.

Key player: Rohit Paudel: Facing a West Indies A attack which included Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, and Roston Chase, captain Paudel showed his class with scores of 112, 71 n.o. and 82.

The squad:

Rohit Paudel (Capt.), Aasif Sheikh, Anil Kumar Sah, Kushal Bhurtel, Kushal Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Lalit Rajbanshi, K.C. Karan, Gulshan Jha, Sompal Kami, G.C. Pratis, Sundeep Jora, Abinash Bohara, Sagar Dhakal, and Kamal Singh Airee.

Australia’s Mitchell Marsh addresses the media during a press conference on the eve of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Netherlands in New Delhi, on October 24, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Australia will not brush aside the late collapse against Pakistan and will look to address their batting frailties in the back end when they face the Netherlands in their World Cup match, said in-form all-rounder Mitchell Marsh on October 24.

David Warner (163) and Marsh (121) smashed superlative hundreds, forging a 259-run stand for the opening wicket but a late collapse saw them eventually finish at 367 for 9 against Pakistan.

“I think individually everyone would have addressed that. To be honest I thought Pakistan bowled really well and gave us a bit of a blueprint on how to go about it certainly towards the back end of the innings,” Marsh said during the pre-match press conference.

“They’re a very good outfit and we were able to get on top of them in the first half of the innings, but they came back strongly, and you expect that from teams like Pakistan.

“So, we’ll address it, and hopefully moving forward, we can have a great last 10 overs and apply some pressure to other teams,” he said ahead of Australia’s match against the Dutch here on Wednesday.

Batting at number 3

Travis Head, who had injured his left hand during a World Cup warm-up match in South Africa, is firming up for a return after hitting the nets here ahead of the Netherlands clash.

Asked if Head will play tomorrow, Marsh said: “Yeah, I think that decision will be made this afternoon/tonight. He looked good, a bit of range hitting last night. He says the hand feels good. So, I’m sure if he’s fit, he’ll be available for selection in the team.

“I’m not sure who he’ll replace at this stage, but I presume that if he’s fit and he gets through today that he’ll play, but that decision will be made tonight.” Marsh also said he has no issues slipping back to No. 3 in case Head regains his opening slot.

“I’m very happy to go back down to three. I’ve obviously batted there a lot over the last couple of years, so I feel really comfortable at three. And if and when Heady comes back in, I think that’s the best position for me to play for this team,” he said.

It has been a World Cup of upsets with Afghanistan stunning defending champions England and Pakistan, while the Netherlands shocking South Africa the other day.

“Yeah, teams have got better. I think that’s great for world cricket, certainly in tournaments like this that can sometimes be pretty long. And you see a lot of games that are not exactly close or competitive,” he said.

“But we’ve said it multiple times now in this tournament this year, there’s absolutely no easy games. And you go into every game having done all the appropriate homework and hopefully you can come out with a win.

“So, tomorrow is no different for us. We respect the Netherlands; they’re playing some good cricket and that will be a tough challenge.” Talking about his evolution as a cricketer, Marsh said: “I’ve still worked hard for a long period of time to hopefully keep improving. And there’s no doubt that I’ve had probably more opportunities at the top of the order and more time to bat in the white ball format.

“Not a whole lot’s changed, I’ve just probably not given up on the fact that I was striving for something and kept working hard through periods of time that were tougher than others.

“In the last couple of years, I feel I’ve been as consistent as I could have been, which was something I was always striving for. I guess all the best players in the world that you look up to, and certainly in our team, they’re so consistent. And that’s what I was.” It has been a long season for Australia but Marsh said the experience of the players have helped them to be in great frame of mind despite the initial reversals.

“India probably play the most cricket out of anyone. And I guess from our point of view and from my point of view, it’s leaning on experience of the past,” he said.

“We’ve got a team full of a lot of experience at the moment, guys who’ve played 12 months of the year for the last probably six or seven years. So, we’re not in unfamiliar territory, whilst we had a slow start and we were put under pressure at times, the vibe in the team is great.

“We’ve played really good cricket in the last two games and hopefully that’s the case tomorrow.”