World T20 guide: India

2007: Winners (defeated Pakistan by five runs in the final)

2009: Group stage

2010: Group stage

2012: Group stage

2014: Runners-up (lost to Sri Lanka by six wickets in the final)

India embraced the shortest format quicker than most other nations and their title win in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007 reflected that. Yet their form since then has been disappointing. Group stage exits in the next three tournaments were followed by a loss in the final to Sri Lanka in the last edition of the tournament.

Highest-ever run-scorer:  Virat Kohli, 1,368 runs @ 52.61, SR: 133.07, HS: 90*

Highest-ever wicket-taker:  Ravi Ashwin, 46 wickets @ 21.56, econ: 6.84, BB: 4-8

Best-ever XI: Rohit Sharma, Virendar Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja (12^th man).

Recent form

Since the 2014 World T20: Played 16, won 11 and lost five.

India are remarkably settled going into the 2016 World T20. In the 11 T20 Internationals they’ve played this year, they’ve only used 15 players. And 10 of those players have featured in at least 10 matches. With other nations chopping and changing and searching to find their best XI in a format that is irregularly played on the international stage, this is a big advantage for India. Their form since losing the final of the 2014 World T20 has been good, with only five losses from 16 games.

Squad: MS Dhoni (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh.

Best XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra.

Player to watch

Newcomer Jasprit Bumrah is an accurate seamer with a superb economy-rate (6.15 from his 11 T20 Internationals) and is the kind of bowler India have been crying out for. The 22-year-old only made his international debut against Australia in January but has quickly become a key member of this Indian side. With a deceptive action that batsmen have found difficult to pick up, Bumrah has made a whirlwind start to his international career, with 15 wickets at 16.20 in T20Is. Sachin Tendulkar, who perhaps surprisingly only ever played one T20 international for India, and made 10, recently labelled Bumrah as a ‘game-changer’. Considering many leading international batsmen are yet to face him, the unorthodox right-armer could be in for a big tournament.

Prediction

India rightly go in as favourites to claim the 2016 World T20 held in their own backyard. Their batting, as usual, is strong. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Vuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni are all proven match-winners. But it’s India’s much-improved bowling attack that could hold the key to a win on home soil. As mentioned above, Jasprit Bumrah has been a revelation, while Ashish Nehra swings the new ball and fires in spearing yorkers with the old rock. Ravi Ashwin is one of the finest short-format spinners on the planet but if there’s one weakness in this India squad, it’s their lack of versatility. For the most part, their batters bat and the bowlers bowl. Young seam-bowling allrounder Hardik Pandya, who is coming off some good recent T20 form, will therefore be important to India’s chances. How India handle the pressure of playing at home and the heavy favouritism will also be key, with the weight of expectation from a billion fanatical supporters no easy burden to bear. This remains, however, India’s tournament to lose.