Dubai: Young captains and teams with huge potential are a feature of the approaching World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament.

Hong Kong skipper James Atkinson is the youngest at 21 and has a team full of players who aren't much older.

Atkinson is confident he has plenty of talent at his disposal.

"Although ours is a young squad, all players have been on tours before so there is plenty of experience," he said.

"We have been blessed with plenty of talent in the squad with plenty of match winners."

By comparison, Denmark skipper Michael Pedersen looks old at 25. He is delighted with the energy of his team.

"Over the last year-and-a-half, we have built a reputation of being a side with a ‘never-give-up-attitude', which in my opinion comes down to all the young and energetic guys in the team," he said.

Thorough preparation

Rizwan Cheema is the new captain of Canada, who arrive here having prepared thoroughly.

"We've had good preparation as a side having been away at the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament where we played a number of matches against good quality sides," he said.

"We've also learnt a lot from our recent training camp in Sri Lanka while I've also been a part of the Bangladesh Premier League which has provided me with a good preparation. I feel things are very much coming together for the side."

Uganda were the surprise winners of the recent ICC Africa event. Skipper Davis Arinaitwe says his side is full of natural talent brought out by the Twenty20 format.

"We all know what Twenty20 cricket is like, as anything can happen," he said.

"We think that Twenty20 cricket suits our style of play and our natural game. It is an ideal format for us."

Another new captain is Namibia's Sarel Burger. "We've been preparing by competing in the South African domestic competition known as the SAA competition," he said.

USA are also hoping to create waves under the captaincy of Sushil Nadkarni, who top scored with a fighting half century against Emirates Cricket Board Blues in a warm up match at Al Dhaid.

"Leading Team USA is an honour for me personally and I want to lead from the front," he said.