The fourth edition of the tournament kicks off in Sri Lanka today, when the host country take on Zimbabwe. Twelve nations will contest the three-week competition. Thank you to our friends at Guardian Sport for this team by team guide.
Group A
AFGHANISTAN
Coach: Kabir Khan
Captain: Nawroz Mangal
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 10th
Squad: Nawroz Mangal, Asghar Stanikzai, Dawlat Zadran, Gulbodin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Izatullah Dawlatzai, Javed Ahmadi, Karim Sadiq, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nasim Baras, Samiullah Shenwari, Shafi qullah Shafiq, Shapoor Zadran
Prospects: Their presence still seems novel but this is their second appearance, and after being crushed by India then roughed up by Morne Morkel in the Caribbean in 2010, they may feel that facing England in subcontinental conditions offers them a best opportunity yet of a shock.
Player to watch: Hamid Hassan, the distinctly slippery quick bowler. Such a shame no English county has given him a crack.
ENGLAND
Coach: Andy Flower
Captain: Stuart Broad
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 2nd
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 Super 8; 2009 Super 8; 2010 winner
Squad: Stuart Broad, Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright
Prospects: Holders and favourites, according to their position at the top of the ICC's world T20 rankings, but it doesn't quite feel that way, given general unease in subcontinental conditions, and the absence of the man of the 2010 tournament.
Player to watch: Eoin Morgan becomes the key batsman in the absence of Kevin Pietersen, and the scalp that opponents will most prize.
INDIA
Coach: Duncan Fletcher
Captain: MS Dhoni
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 7th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 winner; 2009 Super 8, 2010 Super 8
Squad: MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Ravichandran Ashwin, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Ashok Dinda, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Yuvraj Singh
Prospects: The winners of the first World T20 in South Africa in 2007 have not even made the semi-finals in two tournaments since, and certainly have the potential to do better than that. Might still be questions over their athleticism in the field.
Player to watch: Yuvraj Singh's presence is a terrific story, after he underwent chemotherapy this year for a rare form of cancer, and he might bring Stuart Broad out in a cold sweat after that famous over in 2007 which cost the new England captain 36.
Group B
AUSTRALIA
Coach: Mickey Arthur
Captain: George Bailey
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 9th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 semi-final; 2009 first round; 2010 runner-up
Squad: George Bailey, Shane Watson, Daniel Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Clint McKay, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Cameron White
Prospects: Sadly, the line about them going into the tournament below Ireland in the official world T20 rankings no longer holds true. They have sneaked above the Irish to ninth, and are breathing down the necks of Bangladesh. But they will field brilliantly, and the rest of the tournament will be wary of the Aussie underdogs.
Player to watch: Dan Christian. Probably still Dan Who? to a fair proportion of cricket followers, but he is an explosive all-rounder who is proud of his Aboriginal roots .
IRELAND
Coach: Phil Simmons
Captain: William Porterfield
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 11th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 dnq; 2009 super 8; 2010 1st round
Squad: William Porterfield, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Trent Johnson, Nigel Jones, Ed Joyce, Tim Murtagh, Kevin O'Brien. Niall O'Brien, Boyd Rankin, Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Andrew White, Gary Wilson
Prospects: An intriguing draw, giving them two opportunities to claim another prize scalp to add to those of England and Pakistan in the last two 50-over World Cups.
Player to watch: George Dockrell, the hard-hitting Paul Stirling and Kevin O'Brien aside it is the Somerset spinner who could be key.
WEST INDIES
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Captain: Darren Sammy
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 4th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 first round; 2009 semi-final; 2010 super 8
Squad: Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith
Prospects: A truly formidable batting line-up on paper, headed by Chris Gayle, with Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Andre Russell for big-hitting support. But as England showed in defeating them at Trent Bridge this summer, that does not necessarily make them unbeatable.
Player to watch: Sunil Narine's much-hyped mystery spin was a bit of a flop when he finally arrived in England, having sparkled in the IPL, but he should be much happier in Colombo.
Group C
SOUTH AFRICA
Coach: Gary Kirsten
Captain: AB de Villiers
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 1st
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 super 8; 2009 semi-final, 2010 super 8
Squad: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Johan Botha, JP Duminy, Francois Du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Richard Levi, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsabe
Prospects: There won't be any of the usual chortling about South African choking in England going into this tournament, after Graeme Smith's team knocked them off the top of the world Test rankings. The T20 squad have a different captain, AB de Villiers, but on the evidence of their limited-overs performances in recent weeks they will be equally meticulously prepared.
Player to watch: Jacques Kallis has played in five World Cups since 1996, and the last two World Twenty20s, without any joy. Now 36, could this be his time?
SRI LANKA
Coach: Graham Ford
Captain: Mahela Jayawardene
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 3rd
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 super 8; 2009 runner-up; 2010 semi-final
Squad: Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeev an Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Akila Dananjaya, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne
Prospects: Home advantage would seem to offer a huge opportunity to add a first World T20 title to the World Cup they won in 1996. But it could also add to the pressure on a team who have lost six of nine previous home T20 internationals
Player to watch: Lasith Malinga has been the most spectacular sight in world cricket for years now, and T20 is his game having enjoyed huge success in the IPL and Champions League.
ZIMBABWE
Coach: Alan Butcher
Captain: Brendan Taylor
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 14th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 first round; 2009 withdrew; 2010 1st round
Squad: Brendan Taylor, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Kyle Jarvis, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Chris Mpofu, Forster Mutizwa, Richard Muzhange, Ray Price, Vusi Sibanda, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller
Prospects: Some encouraging recent signs of improvement are likely to count for little given the toughest possible draw, although they did beat a South Africa team captained by Hashim Amla twice in three meetings in Harare in June. Coached by Alan Butcher, the former Surrey and England batsman.
Player to watch: Brendan Taylor, the 26-year-old captain who will also keep wicket inspired their shock win against Australia in the first world T20 in 2007.
Group D
BANGLADESH
Coach: Richard Pybus
Captain: Mushfi qur Rahim
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 8th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 super 8; 2009 first round; 2010 first round
Squad: Mushfi qur Rahim, Mohammad Mahmudallah, Abdur Razzak, Abul Hasan, Elias Sunny, Farhad Reza, Jahurul Islam, Junaid Siddique, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Ashraful, Nasir Hossain, Shafi ul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Ziaur Rahman
Prospects: Have found more success in 50-over cricket than the shortest form, failing to qualify from their group in the last two world T20 tournaments. Have the ability to improve on that, but recent defeats by Scotland and the Netherlands suggest they probably will not.
Player to watch: Tamim Iqbal could make the same sort of impact in this tournament as a swashbuckling opener as Sanath Jayasuriya did for Sri Lanka back in that 1996 World Cup. But he remains frustratingly hit and miss.
NEW ZEALAND
Coach: Mike Hesson
Captain: Ross Taylor
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 5th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 semi-final; 2009 super 8; 2010 super 8
Squad: Ross Taylor, Doug Bracewell, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Ronnie Hira, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Rob Nicol, Jacob Oram, Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson
Prospects: The draw has been kind to a Black Caps team under new management in Mike Hesson, a little-known Otago stalwart who was appointed to succeed John Wright this year. The sort of efficiency with the odd surprise that they usually produce at world tournaments should be enough for them to make the super eights, possibly as group winners. Anything after that would be a bonus.
Player to watch: Brendon McCullum, who will always have a special place in T20 history after scoring 158 off 73 balls in the first ever IPL fixture. Some would say he played a key role in creating a monster.
PAKISTAN
Coach: Dav Whatmore
Captain: Mohammad Hafeez
Twenty20 World Cup Ranking: 6th
Twenty20 World Cup record: 2007 runner-up; 2009 winner 2010; semi-final
Squad: Mohammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq, Asad Shafiq, Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Sami, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat
Prospects: Making any predictions for them has always been a preposterous exercise. Many have them down as dark horses for this tournament, which they won so memorably in England in 2009, pointing to their bowling attack of varied brilliance led by Saeed Ajmal. But the fact that Kamran Akmal is wicketkeeping reinforces the proviso that things could go either way.
Player to watch: Shahid Afridi is back again, now 32, and epitomising the unpredictable nature of the Pakistan team. Will test the captaincy skills of Mohammad Hafeez, the opener and off-spinner known as "the Professor".
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