Both aged 20, fast bowler Pathirana and all-rounder Wellalage are undeterred by facing childhood heroes at the tournament that opens on October 5

Rashid believes the more spin-friendly Indian wickets at this World Cup will give him the stage to shine and he hopes he can inspire the next generation of Afghan cricketers.

Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, set to become the first Bangladeshi to umpire a World Cup match, said his breakthrough appointment was due to years of facing negative commentary with quiet determination.

Ashwin is the only specialist off-spinner in India's 15-man squad.

Maxwell missed the recent tour of South Africa with an ankle injury, but he has since bounced back and was adjudged player-of-the-match on Wednesday.

"I used to come home after training and he would take my pads and somehow wear them to bed," said elder brother Riaz, a decent player himself with one Test cap to his name.

“I request everybody to keep faith in this team. We have a very exciting team with a blend of youth and experience. We have a dream and we have to materialise it. I believe everybody will try their best to uplift the image of the country,” said Khaled Mahmud.

Bangladesh team management went for a mix of youth and experience as they named the World Cup squad yesterday, with the biggest fallout from the announcement being the absence of veteran Tamim Iqbal due to injury concerns.

Indian ministries have yet to approve visas for spectators hoping to attend the seven week mega-event starting October 5, according to Pakistan media reports

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had written to the governing body complaining about a visa delay which, it said, had disrupted the team's preparation for the showpiece event across the border

The 13th edition of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup will see the winners of the 10-team tournament earn US$4 million, along with the trophy that they will lift at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 19 November.

Hasan, 29, was player of the tournament when Pakistan won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017, but lost his place as Naseem, Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi formed the main pace attack.

Kuldeep Yadav has been in a rich vein of form over the last few months. Recently, he was named the Player of the Series in the Asia Cup, where he picked nine wickets at an average of 11.44. This included a 5/25 against Pakistan in a record win by 228 runs.

Root was part of the victorious England side that lifted their inaugural World Cup trophy at home four years ago and they get the chance to become just the third team to claim back-to-back titles when they travel to the sub-continent for this year's 50-over showcase.

"Siraj's dream spell ended India's five-year title drought," The Times of India wrote

India started the Asia Cup as underdogs, Shoaib Akhtar said, but their transformation during the campaign has now convinced him that “they could be the most dangerous side in the World Cup”

"Sometimes a bit of a kick up the rear end is not the worst thing going into a World Cup," Silverwood told reporters.

Pace bowler Mohammed Siraj returned figures of 6-21 to lead India’s rout of Sri Lanka by 10 wickets as they clinched their eighth Asia Cup title on Sunday.

India kept their best reserved, or, Sri Lanka their worst, for Sunday’s one-sided final of the Asia Cup, a tournament played as a prelude to the World Cup in India next month.

All too often ignored in favour of the big name sport stars, cricketing groundstaff who kept the rain-hit Asia Cup running were promised a $50,000 shared bonus by organisers on Sunday.