Netherlands (D)

Netherlands arrive in the tournament by virtue of having secured automatic qualification, finishing in top-eight of the previous edition, but without veterans Roelof van der Merwe and Colin Ackerman as selectors opted for promising talents.

The Men in Orange edged Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the 2022 points table, but not before they signed off with a bang, eliminating South Africa in Adelaide where Van der Merwe and Ackerman played pivotal roles.

Pitted alongside former champions Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Nepal in Group D, the Scott Edwards-led team would fancy their chances to cause an upset or two, while banking on victory over Nepal.

That series witnessed hard-hitting opener Michael Levitt's outstanding 135 from just 62 balls against Namibia, prompting the selectors to consider him as an opening option alongside Max O'Dowd and Vikramajit Singh.

Given how the Dutch also fared in last year's ODI World Cup, where they beat Bangladesh, one cannot negate their prospect of advancing to the Super 8s.

SQUAD
Scott Edwards (C), Aryan Dutt, Bas de Leede, Saqib Zulfiqar, Kyle Klein, Logan van Beek, Max O'Dowd, Michael Levitt, Paul van Meekeren, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Teja Nidamanuru, Tim Pringle, Vikramjit Singh, Viv Kingma, Wesley Barresi
 

KEY PLAYER 
Bas de Leede
Cricket flows in the veins of Bas de Leede, and the seam-bowling all-rounder, the son of Netherlands great Tim de Leede, has been making his father proud. He leads without the armband, batting at crucial No. 3 spot and bowling the decisive spells under pressure. De Leede had shown the world his mettle in the 2022 edition, inspiring his side often, and also in the build-up to that event.  .

Stat Attack
T20 World Cup Appearance: 5th
T20 World Cup Performance: Played 23, Win 9, Lost 13, NR 1

DID YOU KNOW?
Born to Australian parents, Scott Edwards grew up in Victoria and went from working as an electrician to playing for the Netherlands after obtaining dual citizenship through his grandparents.

FORM GUIDE: W, NR, L, W, W, W, W, L, L, L