Mumbai, Feb 23 (IANS) India's limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, star opener Rohit Sharma and middle-order specialist Yuvraj Singh are set to make their sixth successive appearance at the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20 tournament, which is scheduled to start in India next month.
The 27-day tournament begins in Nagpur on March 8 with a total of 19 men's players from all countries set to feature in their sixth straight event, while 29 women cricketers will make their fifth successive appearance.
After the inaugural World T20 which happened way back in 2007 in South Africa which India won beating arch-rivals Pakistan, the event went on to be staged in England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. This year the tournament will be played at eight venues across India with Eden Gardens in Kolkata scheduled to host the final on April 3.
In the men's event, the Bangladesh team will include five players who have played in all the previous five events -- Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim.
Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Denesh Ramdin from West Indies, Nathan McCullum, Ross Taylor (both New Zealand), AB de Villiers, J.P. Duminy (both South Africa), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga (both Sri Lanka), Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) and Shane Watson (Australia) are the other players to attend their sixth straight World T20 event.
In the women's event, which has been staged alongside the men's event since 2009, the West Indies will enter the competition with six players having played in all tournaments to date -- Stafanie Taylor, Merissa Aguilleira, Deandra Dottin, Stacy-Ann King, Anisa Mohammed and Shakera Selman.
Mitahli Raj, Jhulan Goswami (both India) and Alex Blackwell and Ellyse Perry (both Australia) are the other players to participate in their fifth successive women's competition.
England and South Africa have retained four players each from the previous four tournaments -- Charlotte Edwards, Lydia Greenway, Jenny Gunn, Sarah Taylor (England), and Mignon du Preez, Trisha Chetty, Shabnim Ismail and Dane Van Niekerk (South Africa).
New Zealand and Sri Lanka will be fielding three players each who have been members of the sides that have played in previous events -- Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Sara McGlashan (New Zealand), Chamari Athapaththu, Eshani Lokusooriya and Udeshika Probodani (Sri Lanka).
