India
India won the World Cup for the second time in 2011 on their home soil. Getty

Coach: Duncan Fletcher

ICC World Ranking: 2

Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Akshar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

Fixtures: Pakistan (15 February), South Africa (22 February), UAE (28 February), West Indies (6 March), Ireland (10 March), Zimbabwe (14 March).

Overview: India will be entering the World Cup as one of the favourites, although not as the firm favourite, to win the tournament during the 2015 edition. MS Dhoni's men are not enjoying a great run in the One Day Internationals (ODI) in recent times as they failed to make it to the finals of the Tri-Series between India, Australia and England in Australia.

Their batting has been a matter of worry for coach Duncan Fletcher. India's top order batsmen which includes star players like Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli need to fire with the bat, should they look to retain the world champion title.

The defending champions' leading pacer Ishant Sharma has been replaced by Mohit Sharma. The tall right-arm bowler picked up a knee injury during the Boxing Day test against Australia and failed to pass the late fitness test in Adelaide.

World Cup History: India have won the World Cup on two occasions, in 1983 and 2011. Dhoni's side are the defending champions and they will be looking to win it for the second consecutive time this year.

They were knocked out of the group stages in 1992, when the World Cup was held in Australia and New Zealand.

Prediction: India are the favourites to progress to the next round of the tournament. Victory over UAE, Ireland and Zimbabwe is a likely possibility, while a win over the remaining three teams, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies will help them seal a place in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

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