Upcoming 2011 ICC World Cup
The much anticipated 2011 ICC World Cup will kick off in Bangladesh on 19 February 2011. Ratnakar Shetty, director of the tournament, has confirmed that all thirteen venues selected for the World Cup will be ready to welcome players and spectators by the opening match. There has been some concern over the venues in Sri Lanka and India, which are co-host to the event, but Shetty is confident that everything is running according to schedule. Bangladesh is extremely excited about the tournament and has already selected their fifteen man squad to represent them in the 2011 ICC World Cup.
The squad to represent Bangladesh in this clash of greats consists of Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Tamin Iqbal (Vice-Captain), Shahriar Nafees, Junaid Siddique, Nazmul Hossain, Mohammad Ashraful, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Mushfigur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Imrul Kayes, Shafiul Islam and Raqibul Hasan. Sadly, the well loved all rounder and former captain of the squad, Mashrafe Mortaza, will not be able to compete in this tournament due to fitness issues after recovering from injuries.
The teams competing in the 2011 ICC World Cup have been divided into two groups to enable the setting up of the tournament roster, with Group A consisting of Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, Kenya, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and Pakistan. Group B will feature South Africa, Netherlands, England, Ireland, West Indies, Bangladesh and India. The opening match will see Bangladesh and India face-off against each other, and forty-nine games have been scheduled to complete the tournament.
Games forty-seven and forty-eight will be the semi-finals of the tournament, with the first semi-final being played on 29 March at the R. Premadasa Staduim in Colombo, and the second on 30 March at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. The final match between the winners of these two games will be hosted by the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April 2011. The 2011 ICC World Cup is gearing up to be a spectacular event and Bangladesh will not only be participating in the event, but has the honor of being co-host to this premier international cricket tournament.