ODI World Cup: Skippers look to lead from the front

Rohit SharmaINDIA skipper Rohit Sharma is in great form going into the World Cup Apart from leading India to the Asia Cup win recently the Mumbai man has scored 194 runs including three half centuries in the multinational tournament The opener however failed to beat fourtime World Champions Australia earlier this yearAlso ReadSunil Gavaskar picks England as favourites for ICC Cricket World CupKane WilliamsonKANE Williamson had been out of the team with a knee injury that occurred during this years IPL He scored an unbeaten 54 in the warmup match against Pakistan on Friday The New Zealand skipper however will miss his teams opening match against defending champions England on ThursdayBabar AzamBABAR Azam has been in terrific form scoring 745 runs in 16 ODIs this year at a strong average of 4966 including two centuries Though Pakistan failed to qualify for the Asia Cup final under his leadership his recent form including 151 off 131 balls against Nepal and 80 off 84 deliveries in the warmup match against New Zealand will be a big confidence booster for the teamPat CumminsAUSTRALIA captain Pat Cummins made an ODI comeback in the recentlyconcluded threematch ODI series against India after being out of the ODI side for 10 months due to a wrist injury He rested for the second ODI against India which the hosts won by 99 runs DLS method Australia will be hoping the fast bowlers recent form 2103 in two matches wont hamper the teamrsquos preparation for the World CupDasun ShanakaDasun Shanakas batting form this year has been a big concern for Sri Lanka going into the World Cup Apart from scoring an unbeaten 108 in the first ODI against India at Guwahati earlier this year the middleorder batsman has failed to even go past 31 in his last 21 innings scoring just 150 runs at a poor average of 937 The allrounder however was effective with the ball claiming 13 wickets in 22 ODIs this yearJos ButtlerENGLAND skipper Jos Buttler has been consistent enough this year He was dismissed on a singledigit score just once in the last 10 ODI innings in which he smashed 548 runs at an impressive average of 6088 The team will be boosted by the wicketkeeperbatsmans bighitting and quickscoring ability which can put the opposition out of the game within a span of a few oversShakib Al HasanShakib Al Hasan has lived up to his allrounder tag by scoring 549 runs in 10 ODIs this year at an impressive average of 3921 in which he also claimed 14 wickets His best allround show 75 off 71 balls amp 435 came during Bangladeshs 50run win over England during the third ODI at Chittagong earlier this year He was also impressive during the recentlyconcluded Asia Cup smashing 173 runs in five matches including three wicketsTemba BavumaDESPITE being out for a duck in his last ODI against Australia recently South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has been in the form of his life this year smashing 637 runs in 10 ODIs at a strong average of 7962 including three centuries The Proteas will bank on the opener to provide them a good start en route to winning their maiden World Cup titleHashmatullah ShahidiAFGHANISTAN captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was not in his best form in the ODI series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh earlier this year but the middleorder batsman got his form back just in time before the World Cup by scoring backtoback half centuries in Asia Cup matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka respectively He will look to continue his fine form in the multination tournamentScott EdwardsNetherlands skipper Scott Edwards played a big role scoring 67 off just 47 balls in his teams shocking win over the West Indies during the ICC World Cup Qualifier earlier this year The wicketkeeperbatsman led from the front to help The Netherlands qualify for the World Cup scoring 314 runs in eight matches at an average of 6280