The upcoming World Cup is the second in a span of two years. The last time this happened was back in 2009, when a World Cup was held consecutively in 2009 and 2010. While the gap is only one year, there has been a considerable number of changes in the sides over the course of the last few months. Some look the same, some have new leaders, and some went through a complete overhaul after the last World Cup.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan are coming into this World Cup without some of their celebrated old names. Players who were vital cogs for over a decade are now out. Among them are Hamid Hassan, Mohammad Shahzad and Gulbadin Naib, who are dropped. Their senior player, Asghar Afghan retired in the middle of the last World Cup as well. While some old stars are gone, Afghanistan has got some nice players, who are doing a good job in franchise cricket. Fazalhaq Farooqi is one such name. His bowling is growing in fame and he has a really good yorker as well.

Australia

The core of the Australian squad is still the same. David Warner and Aaron Finch are openers, Mitchell Marsh at three, and the fast bowling trio along with Adam Zampa carry the bowling attack. There are some changes outside the squad though. For starters, Aaron Finch could be into his last days as an Australian cricketer. Prior to the World Cup, he retired from ODI Cricket. Steve Smith is also not a certain starter, while the only inclusion in the side, Tim David, is proving to be a valuable finisher.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the few teams to be going through an overhaul of changes. Mushfiqur Rahim is retired, Mahmadullah, their captain last year has been dropped, and a handful of players in the squad last time are in the reserves or away from the squad all together. Shakib Al Hasan is leading. While Bangladesh has a lot of changes going through, they surely are not the most different side from last time. Within the squad though, they still have a lot of concerns. Mustafizur Rahman’s bowling is among the biggest of them.

England

For England, an era has gone by in the last year. Eoin Morgan is retired, Jos Buttler is leading, Jason Roy is out due to poor form and Jonny Bairstow is injured. There are some happy inclusions though. Ben Stokes is back in the T20 side, while Alex Hales is also a new entrant. There is also some young talent on the rise with Phil Salt and Harry Brook doing their bit to challenge the others in the batting line-up.

India

After a lot of cricket in the last year, India has a decent lot of players to pick from. While the bench strength has grown, the injury list has too. For starters, India will be without two of their most important players. Ravindra Jadeja is out with a knee injury and Jasprit Bumrah is out with a back injury. There is also a captaincy change with Rohit Sharma at the helm now instead of Virat Kohli. There is a new coach as well with Ravi Shastri’s tenure ending and Rahul Dravid taking over. Another very interesting change is the inclusion of an experienced finisher. Dinesh Karthik, who was a part of the Indian team in their inaugural World Cup is back in the Indian Squad.

Ireland

Ireland’s squad is quite familiar to the one that turned up last year. Andrew Balbairne misses out though and Kevin O Brian has retired. Those are the only two big changes. Over the last year though, Ireland has some positives with their young talent. In Harry Tector and Josh Little, Ireland has a pair of young cricketers who are carrying them forward and could put up some big records going forward.

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Namibia

Like Ireland, Namibia are pretty simple. They made some noise last time and are off to a great start this time around, beating Sri Lanka in the first game.

Netherlands

The Netherlands side has some changes. Pieter Seelar is retired after struggling with a back injury. Ryan Ten Doeschate, one of Netherlands best players is retired as well, having given one last attempt for Netherlands in the last World Cup.

New Zealand

New Zealand were runners up last time and will be hoping to go a step farther this time. Martin Guptill is back, and Finn Allen makes it to the World Cup squad for the first time. Lockie Ferguson is also there this time after missing the last World Cup to an injury. While New Zealand has a similar squad, it is the form of their players which will be a question. Kane Williamson in particular has missed a lot of cricket in the last year. His T20 numbers are from impressive as well but he has come back a touch with a decent fifty against Pakistan few days ago.

Pakistan

Pakistan is another side that has made a lot of changes. Their middle-order has a different look with Mohammad Hafeez retired and Shoaib Malik not in the squad along with Sarfaraz Ahmed. Fakhar Zaman is back in the squad after initially being in the reserves and Usman Qadir is in the reserves now. One thing that remains the same though is their top-order. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan still remain the pillars up front. The bowling attack has also grown with Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah developing, to join Shaheen Shah Afridi in the attack.

Scotland

Scotland are coming into the tournament with a new captain and are already off to a solid start. Their line-up looks pretty similar to the one they had last year as well. Kyle Coetzer is the only high-profile absentee, considering his recent retirement.

South Africa

Injuries have given South Africa a slightly new look in their squad. Dwaine Pretorious and Rassie Van Der Dussen are out this time, with injuries. South Africa may miss Van Der Dussen in particular, especially after his role in the win against England during the last World Cup. Barring those two, South Africa has some positives. The inclusion of Rilee Roussow and Tristin Stubbs adds a lot of strength to their line-up as both are very exciting T20 Cricketers.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has had a really good year after the last World Cup. Their squad carries a lot of changes, but some of them are happy changes. With Chameera and Kumara injured over the last year, Sri Lanka managed to unearth some new exciting pacers, Chameera is back, but is still struggling with issues. Sri Lanka though are improving in bowling depth.

West Indies

A team with a complete change over the year is West Indies. They have up to twelve changes in the squad. Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have retired, Chris Gayle is out of the national side, Lendl Simmons is also retired, and Shimron Hetmyer missed his flight to Australia. Additionally, the squad has moved on from Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.

There is a lot of exciting talent in the ranks though. in Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Odean Smith, Akeal Hossein and Shamarh Brooks, West Indies have some interesting new talents. The guard of Nicholas Pooran, Rovmann Powell and Jason Holder is still there, leaving some experience in the side. Overall though, a generation has left the West Indies team, but a new generation has taken its place and look just as exciting as the old one.