Contested by the 12 most formidable sides in the world, the teams have been split into four groups, with two seeded teams in each group. Group A comprises defending champions Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia, while Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Zimbabwe form Group B. South Africa, former champions India and newcomers Afghanistan are placed in Group C whereas Group D comprises West Indies, England and Ireland.

The third installment of the event kicked off last night with a match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Guyana while the best eight sides will qualify for the Super Eight, where — after three matches each — they will be further reduced to four sides for the semi finals. The final of the tournament would be held on May 16, between the two strongest sides.

Matches will be played at the picturesque stadiums of Guyana, St. Lucia and Barbados where the lively locales will back the host team, dancing and singing in their own style. Every nation would also be doing the same away from the Caribbean, with each team having player or players who can change the course of any match.

Pakistan has 'Boom Boom' Shahid Afridi who not only is the captain of the side but also the most important player. He may not have the services of banned cricketers Rana Naved, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, and T20's most successful bowler Umar Gul, but he will expect good things from the back-in-the-side Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, the deceiving Saeed Ajmal, the new kid on the block Umar Akmal, the experienced Abdul Razzaq, import from the junior side Hammad Azam and the pace duo of Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer.

Let's discuss the remaining teams in alphabetical order. Afghanistan may be a new entrant to the world of cricket, and not much is known about their players but from what one has seen in the recent months, they are a formidable side and can give tough time to its opponents.

Australia will depend on its strong batting line up, being lead by Michael Clarke, with the explosive David Warner and all-rounder Shane Watson on top, Michael Hussey and Cameron White in the middle order followed by Brad Haddin in the lower order. They will bank on the spin of Nathan Hauritz, the pace of Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee and Shaun Tait to win the only title that has eluded them.

Shakib Al Hasan's Bangladesh has also improved during recent days and will look forward to improving their show with the help of batsmen Tamim Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed and bowlers led by Abdur Razzak and the skipper himself.

England may not have done well in this format but Paul Collingwood's men have the ability to change the course of the match any day, anywhere. With James Anderson returning from a well deserved rest, Ravi Bopara in excellent T20 form, all-rounder Stuart Broad in full gear, the sensation Craig Kieswetter out to prove his worth and the indomitable Eoin Morgan in its rank, along with the never-say-die Kevin Pietersen and the spin ace Graeme Swann, England have a chance in the cup.

Former champions India may have done well recently but their chances in the cup might be hampered by the over exposure of players in the Indian Premier League. Even then, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a brilliant captain who can hit the opponents hard and with Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan and Rohit Sharma in form, the Indians might consider themselves favourites. Add Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla and you get one of the most complete line ups in world cricket.

William Porterfield's Irish team would be looking forward to creating an upset, just like they did in the cricket World Cup 2007 where they defeated Pakistan, that too in the Caribbean. New Zealand has always been a force to reckon one but their failure to succeed in the semi finals of mega events has always hampered their chances of winning titles. But Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori is all set to change the script and would be banking on the hard-hitting Brendon McCullum, the comeback kid Jesse Ryder, the might of Ross Taylor, the all-round capabilities of Scott Styris, Aaron Redmond and Jacob Oram as well as the pace of Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Shane Bond and Ian Butler.

South Africa have never won the World Cup or the Twenty20 competition but since they have a strong domestic set up where the competition is as strong as in international matches, Graeme Smith might not be feeling worried over his team's chances. Any team can end up winning from hopeless situations if it has Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Albie Morkel and Dale Steyn in its ranks.

Then there is Sri Lanka, the team that managed to reach the final of the last edition, only to be toppled by Pakistan. With captain Kumar Sangakkara in excellent nick and Mahela Jayawardene hungry for runs, the islanders can surprise any team. They have the spin twins Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis in their side while Tillekaratne Dilshan can tear apart any bowling line up with his innovative batting. Add all rounders Sanath Jayasuriya and Angelo Mathews and you have a dream team.

A lot has changed in the West Indian camp since the last event in England. The players revolted against the board, missed the Champions Trophy in South Africa where a new team was fielded, after which sense prevailed among both the parties and the players returned to the national side. Skipper Chris Gayle will now try to prove his mettle by combining the might of the juniors (Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy) and the seniors (Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor) and clinch the trophy.

Under the guidance of Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwe will also be looking to prosper. With former world record holder for the biggest knock in ODI cricket Charles Coventry, the controversial Andy Blignaut, the brilliant Hamilton Masakadza, former captain Tatenda Taibu and the consistent Ray Price in the side, anything's possible.

India defeated Pakistan in 2007 whereas Pakistan downed Sri Lanka last year to become Twenty20 World Champions. Only time will prove whether Pakistan successfully defends its title or this year a new team or a former champion manages to take the trophy home. May the best team wins!