International stars from Pakistan, West Indies and England have all made good ground on the final update of the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings before the start of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto urged fans and senior players of the team support them during their tough times in the T20 World Cup.

A young Afghan side with an average age of just 25 have vowed to give audiences back home rare cause for jubilation at the T20 World Cup after a breakthrough performance at the 50-over showpiece.

Pat Cummins led Australia to history last year when they won the ICC Test Championship and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023. In the Caribbean this year they have the opportunity to become the first team in history to hold the ICC Trophies in all three formats of the game at the same time if they manage to win the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Mitch Marsh's men were shorthanded because only nine of their World Cup squad have arrived in Port of Spain.

England remain 1-0 up with one to play at The Oval on Thursday after a 23-run win in at Edgbaston but this latest abandonment came just a week before they begin their T20 World Cup title defence against Scotland in Barbados on June 4.

West Indies and New Zealand are the top-ranked teams in Group C, but will face strong resistance from Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea as they aim to make it through to the second round.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials Jalal Yunus and Gazi Ashraf Lipu were not keen on entertaining skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto’s accusations that substandard pitches at home had primarily contributed to the Tigers' dismal performance in Twenty20 Internationals.

After being the flag bearers of fearless cricket for the past few years, England now seem like a team that have lost their mojo and are stuck between gears.

One could be fooled into predicting New Zealand’s fate in this World Cup based on their record since the last edition -- 16 wins in 34 matches -- as the Black Caps have, time and again, brought their prime version in mega events.

I In 2007 as the inaugural edition was about to start, Twenty20s were still widely viewed as the ‘fun’ version of cricket. Its reputation as the ‘fun’ version, prompted the ‘serious’ cricketers to distance themselves from it. Perhaps seeing something like a ‘bowl out’ decide the fate of tied matches inclined them to stay away from such frivolity.

There is no room for bummer this summer as co-hosts West Indies prepare to set aside their miseries of the past two editions. Instead, as the two-time champions and the first to achieve the feat, the Men in Maroon will be inclined to seek inspiration from past successes.

‘’We have enough’’ was the main theme in most of the answers Sri Lanka’s chief selector Upul Tharanga gave when asked about the shortcomings in power-hitting abilities in the squad.

For those cricket fans who have got used to enjoying the sight of batters steamrolling bowlers of all ilk over the past 65 days or so, will the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies may prove to be a bit of a turn-off.

The fact that Afghanistan have had nine players in teams’ rosters for the Indian Premier League this season speaks volumes about the reputation of Afghan individuals as well as Afghanistan as a team in Twenty20 cricket. To put this into perspective, that number is more than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and on par with New Zealand and West Indies -- the latter two regarded as powerhouses in all forms of cricket.

If someone were wandering the streets of the USA and heard the sweet sound of a bat meeting ball, the immediate assumption might be that it’s a baseball game. However, it’s increasingly likely that this sound comes from a cricket match.

India will have to set aside all the chatter regarding a few of their star names and get behind one common idea of winning the T20 World Cup if they are to quench their thirst for a first major trophy in white-ball cricket since their 2013 Champions Trophy triumph.

Under the guidance of a young Najmul Hossain Shanto and with some exciting weapons in their arsenal, Bangladesh will hope to re-write their record in T20 World Cups heading into the ninth edition of the mega event. 

Even though cricket is a global game which in terms of popularity is only behind football in the world, the people running the sport have always been sceptical about letting new teams join the ranks of the established names.

Lately, things have been a bit unsettling for Pakistan, runners-up of the last T20 World Cup in 2022 in Australia and champions of the 2009 edition.