Dangerous Pak, WI lurk as Team India look to go far in World T20

While Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his band of men journey towards Dhaka, on Friday, with an eye the World Twenty20 Championship title, a question that will rankle Indian supporters is can the former champions bring home the title again?

India, champions in the inaugural edition, have failed to repeat that unbeatable performance in subsequent editions. And, this year too, India face a huge challenge.

Team India have an unenviable task of opening their campaign against a formidable Pakistan team in Mirpur on March 21 in a Super 10 game.

Pakistan have been in great form in the 50-over format having defeated India in the recently held Asia Cup but lost to eventual winners Sri Lanka in the final.

The Indian team has had a pretty pathetic season over the last three months – first losing 3-match ODI series in South Africa 2-0 (3rd match was called off due to rain) and then losing to New Zealand 4-1 with one match ending in a tie.

In fact, India’s recent visit to Bangladesh was an unhappy one having failed to make the Asia Cup final after losing to Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the round-robin stage.

In their second match of the championships, India take on West Indies on March 23 at the same venue.

But India won’t have it easy against the Windies.

The Caribbean boys have been in blistering form in the T20 format. They beat England 2-1 in a home series to announce themselves as serious contenders to retain the title they won in 2012.

But before the big games India’s 15-strong squad will play two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka (March 17) and England (March 19) that will set the tone for the championships.

The ICC World Twenty20 Championship scheduled from March 16 to April 6.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma and Varun Aaron.