Who will win the T20 World Cup? Who are the dark horses? And can England add the T20 title to their crown of over 50? Ahead of the Super 12 stage and the big names entering the tournament, Sky Sports experts Nasser Hussain and Rob Key select some of the teams and players to see …
The West Indies prevailed in 2016, but who will lift the T20 World Cup in 2021?
With the bigwigs set to join the T20 World Cup with the Super 12 stage kicking off on Saturday, Nasser Hussain and Rob Key make their tournament predictions …
Wrench: I think the clear favorites, and with a certain distance, are India. I think England is right behind them. India, under these conditions, one only thinks about the players who have been left out and have the opportunity to win it, and much less about the ones they have.
The class with the bat, I think as long as India is brave and doesn’t limit itself to seniority, and they have a mix of legends, great senior players that they have mixed with some of the young stars like Ishan. Kishan, it’s hard to look past them. My only concern for India, and this sounds ridiculous, is if they just go with KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. I really want to have an Ishan Kishan somewhere.
Hussain: India they have to be favorites. I have said for a while that it is between them and England, and India in particular has almost all the bases covered. A very strong batting lineup, some quality seamers, quality spinners and they know the conditions. The only problem for them is that they have stumbled into knockout games lately. But, for me, India is the favorite.
Hussain: I don’t know if you can describe them as dark horses, but Pakistan. They came to England with a white ball team and they really lost against England’s third XI. They are going a bit under the radar and obviously have a massive match on Sunday against India but, at ICC events, as we saw in England at the Champions Trophy, they are a really good tournament team.
They probably also have something to prove with what has happened recently with people who are not on tour there, New Zealand and England, and I think they have a lot of struggle, passion and character. Pakistan would be a good story.
Wrench: If I wanted courage, I would look Pakistan. There are the top three, I would add the West Indies to England and India, but Pakistan, if the stars line up and can find a way, they can beat anyone because they have world-class bowling, arguably one of the best hitters. in the world in Babar Azam and they know these conditions better than anyone. Many of them will have played for PSL when they were in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There are many things in favor of Pakistan.
Hussain: I’d be surprised if England didn’t make it to the final. They are a high quality side. Yes, they are missing three very valuable players in Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Jofra Archer, in particular. He’s one of the best white ball shooters in the world when he’s in shape, both at the start and end of an inning, so he’s a huge loss.
Without Stokes and Curran, two all-rounders we’ve already seen in the run-up to the tournament, England are trying to balance the team and decide whether to play the extra hitter or the extra pitcher. Having said all that, this is a fabulous white ball team and I think they have a good chance of doing better than in the last T20 World Cup. It would be nice if Eoin Morgan were back in shape, but he is a wonderful captain and I think they have a very good chance.
Wrench: I think they will do well. I am still confident but they are not in as good a position as they could have been, there is no Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes or Sam Curran. England have a little dilemma with their team composition. Are five bowlers and Liam Livingstone going? How do they use Moeen Ali? It will be interesting to see how they do it.
Wrench: Jos Buttler. You always have to go for one of the first, basically you are choosing between them and I think Buttler looked great in the preparation game against New Zealand, this could be his moment.
Hussain: I’m going to go with KL Rahul. It was between him and Buttler. Both teams would hope to qualify until the end to play more games and in a category like this you want someone who is playing seven games!
I think KL Rahul, the nick he’s in, the way he’s shown in the IPL, his T20 stats and he’s so stylish, so easy on the eyes, he hits the ball, plays spin and fast bowling very ok and it seems like it gets timing of these dead throws.
Hussain: I would not go either Jasprit bumrah or Adil Rashid. Bumrah, not just because he’s a high-quality bowler, but also because he throws his overs. Hopefully he will get windows up front with the new ball and, in death, the window shot potential is high for anyone, but, for him, with his yorkers and slower balls; I would expect it to be right at the top. of the list.
Rashid is ranked No. 4 in the world, the conditions here are perfect for him and Morgan uses him brilliantly. I think it will be between him and Bumrah, I could lean towards the man from India.
Wrench: I like it Jasprit bumrahI always love to see him at T20 cricket. You want someone who is on a fair path in the competition and I think Bumrah is an absolute genius.
Hussain: Tymal Mills. He’s waited so long, he’s had injuries, they let him be in franchise cricket, we’ve seen how good he is at The Hundred this summer, we’ve seen how good he is for Sussex. England is going to need rhythm, anyone is going to need rhythm here in the UAE, but you’re also going to need that variety and he has it, firstly as a left gunsmith, but also through the slower ball variety in the that throws. the tone.
For example, against the West Indies, you go up against Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, you don’t want the middle dobbers to get going on those two, you want a little bit of rhythm and hitting them to make him that guy. of bowler. However, you need to play, and there is no guarantee of that, and you also need to stay in shape. But I’d have Mills, he’s a point of difference and I think he and Mark Wood are going to be a handful.
Key: Shaheen Shah Afridi. He’s not new to the scene, but he’s still young. This is what they seem to do in Pakistan, choose young people and now you have someone who is fast, has the left arm, is in control and is almost at the peak of his powers. Bowlers impact all games, good and bad, and I think he will have a positive impact on all games.
