Top 5 Batsmen to Watch Out For in the ICC World Cup 2015

Here is my pick of the top 5 Batsmen to Watch Out For in the ICC World Cup 2015

• AB De Villiers, South Africa

AB has been in phenomenal form over the past few years and is fresh from his mind numbing 31 ball hundred assault against the West Indies. He possesses an almost incomprehendible array of shots and his hitting arc is all around the ground. He mostly comes in around the 30th over and with his busy cricket quickly gets into his stride. Before the opposition can know, he is on 20-30 runs just by turning ones into twos and twos into threes. With his eye in and the batting powerplay to boost he then begins to up the scoring rate and the opposition feels the heat of his batting prowess.

• Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka

The classy Sri Lankan continues to pile on the runs and the bowlers have been utterly helpless against the precision and temperament of the south paw. With years of experience under his belt and an insatiable hunger for runs, I expect Sanga to be amongst the top 3 run getters in the World Cup 2015. He had a stellar 2014 and won the Man of the Match award in his farewell match in the WT20 finals in Bangladesh. The Sri Lankan fans will be hoping for a déjà vu from their champion performer one more time.

• Kane Williamson, New Zealand

The diminutive New Zealander has been a revelation in ODI cricket of late. He starts cautiously, builds his innings till he is confident enough to bring out the big strokes and then launches into a fully fledged attack with his eye set. The more explosive Kiwi batsmen bat with more freedom as Kane provides ample support and calmness to complement them. Such is his consistency that one can almost bet his house on him being the top run scorer from the New Zealand side in every match that they play and still end up richer!

• Steven Smith, Australia

Long gone are the years when people laughed at this blonde from down under, they said he could not bowl and most certainly he could not bat. Those who watch him now are in awe of his amazing consistency and his tendency to churn out the runs at a fair clip in almost every match that he plays. He is also unfazed by all the pressure that captaincy brings as he has hit 4 hundreds in as many matches when he has led the Aussie side. His technique is very different from a normal batsman in the sense that he shuffles a lot and that puts bowlers off their mark, though he is as strong on the offside as well.

• Marlon Samuels, West Indies

Marlon Samuels seemed like another wasted opportunity for the West Indies cricket when he was mired in all sorts of controversies but he has comeback with a vengeance. He has been their most consistent batsman over the past few years and is a vital cog in the West Indies line up. If he can hang in for a few overs and get his eye in then he will be a great asset and you can hope that the West team will go deep in the tournament.

Which Batsmen do you think will shine at the Cricket World Cup 2015?