World T20 preview: India, England boss Group A

The unpredictable nature of Twenty20 cricket is what makes makes Group A of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 an interesting proportion. It consists of India, England and Afghanistan and on the face of it the first two teams look set to qualify for the next round, but any laxity on their part and Afghanistan might queer their pitch.

Over the last one year, Afghanistan have emerged as a team with a fine blend of dash and defiance. They’ve been inconsistent, but shown fighting spirit and vigour and they have a couple of very good players for the Twenty20 format like Karim Shadiq and Mohammad Shehzad, both of whom are explosive batsmen. Mohammad Nabi is a capable allrounder who can turn a match on his own while in the bowling, legspinner Samiullah Shenwari could be Afghanistan’s trump card as his economy rate of 5.45 in international matches suggests. Fielding is this team’s Achilles’ heel.