Kolkata, March 13: Predicting the ultimate winner of the upcoming World Twenty20 could be as risky as guessing the London weather, but it requires no rocket science to conclude that the champions' campaign would be propelled by some electrifying star performances.
World T20 Special Site; Photos
Not only the winner, every side in the March 15-April 3 cricket extravaganza has players who have the potential to emerge as heroes in the battle between the willow and the leather.
Defending champions Sri Lanka look a depleted outfit, especially after the retirement of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara who were instrumental in their triumph in Bangladesh two years back.
If the islanders are to replicate their success, all-rounder Angelo Mathews has to play a key role. He is a wily cricketer who plans according to situations. Though his teammate Lasith Malinga has lost a bit of his sharpness of late, he loves the world stage. And if he is fit, the man with the ever changing hairstyle can indeed be lethal with his yorkers.
For England, Alex Hales might be the show-stealer. If Hales fires more often than not and with the likes of Joe Root to support him, the 2010 winners could make the last four. Hales has an average of 33.94 in the format with a strike rate of 135.12.