Twenty20 World Cup guide: Big guns take aim at short-form showpiece

In the mad world of COVID, the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup in India is being held in Oman and the United Arab Emirates, 12 months before the postponed 2020 event in Australia, which has been pushed back to 2022.

The years are out of sequence but not without consequence: imagine the challenge of getting 15 international teams into Australia right now.

Here’s how the teams will line up and who to look out for.

Carlos Brathwaite and the West Indies celebrate their 2016 T20 World Cup triumph.Credit:Getty

GROUP 1

AUSTRALIA

Squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa. Reserves: Dan Christian, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams.

Player to watch: Mitchell Marsh. Few players trigger as strong a response from fans as the West Australian all-rounder. If his recent form is a guide, this could be the tournament where the faith shown by selectors in one of the game’s good guys is paid back in spades.

Prediction: It’s debatable if Australia has unlocked the T20 code but, armed with a full-strength squad for a rare time during the pandemic, they have the match-winners with bat and ball to make an impact. It could come down to the final group game against the West Indies for a berth in the semis, while the opener against South Africa will set the tone for the campaign.

SOUTH AFRICA

Squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen. Reserves: George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams

Player to watch: Tabraiz Shamsi. Only close watchers of the world game will have heard of the world’s No.1-ranked T20 tweaker, a left-arm wrist spinner whose wily variations are suited to the UAE tracks and tournament play.

Prediction: They could not win major events with stronger sides, so what hope for a team in transition in foreign climes? Not much.

WEST INDIES

Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh jnr. Reserves: Darren Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein.

Player to watch: Fabian Allen. He’s handy with bat and ball, but it’s in the field where the all-rounder is unparalleled. Catches win matches, and this man is brilliant. Don’t be surprised if he goes viral for a freakish effort.

Prediction: Older fans remember them for their feats in longer formats, while the younger generations are seeing them excel in T20s. The two-time champions have genuine claims to defend their title.

ENGLAND

Squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. Reserves: Liam Dawson, James Vince, Reece Topley

Player to watch: Adil Rashid. Top-line wrist spinners who can turn the ball both ways are priceless in this form of the game and the leggie from Yorkshire is certainly that, even if he might be better suited to the 50-over game.

Prediction: Eoin Morgan’s experienced side has won nine of its past 11 series and should be primed after a busy home season. One of the teams to beat.

GROUP 2

INDIA

Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami. Reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur.

Player to watch: Hardik Pandya. The hard-hitting all-rounder starred against Australia last summer but comes into the tournament off a poor IPL where he did not bowl during the second leg and failed to fire with the bat. Finishers are hard to find, so will India back him to come good?

Prediction: No team has more in its favour. The spin-friendly conditions will suit and their players should be match hardened after the recent IPL on the very grounds this event will be staged. But can they handle the pressure of being favourites to win a trophy they have not lifted since the inaugural edition in 2007?

AFGHANISTAN

Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq. Reserves: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi.

Player to watch: Rashid Khan. There may not be too many more chances to see this leg-spinner weave his magic on the world stage, so enjoy him while you can.

Prediction: A victory over a Test nation would be a good result for a team that had been the feel-good story of world cricket before the Taliban takeover – and their views on women in sport – made them the elephant in the corner.

NEW ZEALAND

Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Reserve: Adam Milne.

Player to watch: Devon Conway. Who is New Zealand’s highest ranked T20 batter? If you thought Kane Williamson, you’re wrong. The South Africa-born Conway has made a brilliant start to his international career in all formats and will be a key cog in the Black Caps’ top order.

Prediction: Terrible luck dudded the Kiwis in the 50-over World Cup, but here it will be their lack of a top-drawer spinner that could make life difficult.

PAKISTAN

Squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik. Reserves: Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir.

Player to watch: Babar Azam. No player has reached 2000 T20 international runs faster than the Pakistan captain, but there is conjecture about whether he has the power game needed at the top of the order.

Prediction: Pakistan had been world No.1 under Mickey Arthur, but two years and two coaches later they are back in the pack.

THE BEST OF THE REST

The main phase of this year’s relocated World Cup does not begin until next weekend, but the tournament officially kicks off on Sunday when host nation Oman takes on fellow minnows Papua New Guinea in the first of 45 games across four weeks.

The associate nations are two of eight teams split into two groups fighting for the four remaining berths in the Super 12 stage of the tournament.

In Group A, Test nations Sri Lanka and Ireland are the two favourites to progress to the main event ahead of Namibia and the Netherlands. Bangladesh, coming off home series wins against Australia and New Zealand, are expected to advance in Group B ahead of Scotland, though Oman and PNG are capable of an upset.

The top team in Group A and the second in Group B qualify for Group 1, while the top in Group B and second in Group A go into Group 2. The first two from each of the two Super 12 pools advance to the semi-finals, so there is little margin for error.

GROUP A

Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands, Sri Lanka.

GROUP B

Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guineas, Scotland.

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