India
This team will approach the 2010 tournament with wounded pride. They became T20 world champions in South Africa in 2007, but had a terrible tournament in 2009, losing all three matches in the second round and failing to make even the semi-finals. Yet the glamorous success of the Indian Premier League shows that India's love for this format has exploded. With IPL cricket keeping Indian players in good rhythm, everybody else better watch out. Pakistan, especially, have had horrible luck against India in international tournaments and will need to play out of their skins to succeed. The two teams start out in different groups but could potentially clash in the second round.

Australia
The team that has displayed a Midas touch in other forms of cricket has amazingly struggled to replicate it in Twenty20. Their win-loss ratio in T20 internationals is so far mediocre, and although they were semi-finalists in the 2007 tournament, luck deserted them in 2009 when they lost both their group games and failed to advance to the second round. This, therefore, is a beast hungry to stamp its dominance over an upstart format that has so far proved elusive. Australian cricket's unofficial slogan is that they are always in it to win and Captain Ricky Ponting has already served notice of menacing intent. In an ironic twist, Australia's poor showing in 2009 has placed them squarely in Pakistan's path, and the two will meet in a group match on May 2.

Afghanistan
Cricket was an alien sport to the people of Afghanistan until war forced many of them to take refuge in neighbouring Pakistan. After being exposed to the game in Pakistani camps, they took to it as one does an acquired taste — initial acceptance is gingerly and cautious but you eventually understand what the fuss is all about, and then you can't get enough of it. This passion took Afghanistan to a victory streak in the qualifying matches, making them one of the two associate nations (Ireland is the other one) to join the 10 full ICC members for the World Twenty20. They are in a tough group alongside India and South Africa, but there is no denying they are going to be the human-interest story of this tournament. Who knows, they might even pull off an upset or two.

Shahid Afridi
He is Pakistan's beloved all-rounder, the apple of the nation's cricketing eye, yet in the upcoming tournament he has a lot to prove. This is his first time leading Pakistan in a major international tournament, and he has a tough act to follow after Younis Khan set the highest possible standard by leading Pakistan to the title last year. Afridi enjoys a keen rivalry with Younis and he will be extra-motivated to oversee a successful title defence in 2010. As famous for ferocious aggression as for his embarrassing antics, he will need intense discipline and concentration to live up to the insatiable expectations of his fans. The good news is that he is a widely feared and amazingly talented cricketer who is fully capable of pulling it off.

Mohammad Hafeez
Any warrior who can claw his way back from adversity is a powerful, competitive asset. After an initial period of international promise, Hafeez had a string of poor matches and was dropped from the side. His response was to hit the nets and the gym, work himself to the bone, and outshine in whatever cricket he could get his hands on, be it with the Pakistan A side or with local teams in domestic cricket. This attitude led him to a series of fine performances in the RBS Twenty20 Cup that concluded last month. Although he has not played any top-order cricket since October 2007, Hafeez has been welcomed back into the national squad as a reinvented all-rounder. If Pakistan do well in the World T20, it will be on the backs of its all-rounders; you can safely bet that Hafeez is going to be one of them.

Saeed Ajmal
Dot balls are like gold dust in T20 cricket, and Saeed Ajmal is becoming increasingly adept at delivering them on demand. The four overs that this tenacious off-spinner is certain to bowl in each match for Pakistan will have a strangulating effect on the opposition. Ajmal may not be a natural wicket-taker, but he has turned accuracy into a weapon. The icing on the cake is his doosra, which keeps batsmen guessing. He is typically brought on when the opposition wants to accelerate, and his precision off-spin forces batsmen into risky strokes as they struggle to snap out of his chokehold. It is hard to imagine a better bowling weapon to complement Shahid Afridi's threatening wrist spin and Pakistan's formidable arsenal of swing and seam.

Crazy shots
T20's daredevil tempo has spawned some breathtaking batting innovations. We see batsmen scoop good-length balls behind the wicketkeeper's head, comfortably deflect scorching yorkers to third man or fine leg, and repeatedly step down the track to connect for six after six. These methods are not found in any coaching manual and indeed would be sacrilegious in any other form of cricket. It makes for spectacular cricket entertainment and you can expect more — probably much more — of the same as the world's most talented batsmen battle it out in West Indies.

Cheerleaders
Let us be honest — they are the great un-stated benefit of T20 cricket. Indeed, you have to keep an eye on them because it is impossible not to. Everyone enjoys their presence, including women, who as we all know are accomplished connoisseurs of fashion, grace and form. The only people who seem uptight about having cheerleaders around are the moral police, but they are probably just putting up a front. Matters could get especially interesting in the Caribbean, where people know how to party and let their hair down. Cheerleaders will ensure that there is something in the game for everyone, including the losers. If Pakistan does not fare well, you will know where to drown your sorrows.

So get ready everybody. World Twenty20 in the West Indies, here we come.