The T20 World Cup in 2021 will feature 16 international teams. The top eight international T20 teams have already qualified for the Super 12s stage of the tournament, and they will be joined by four more teams from round one.
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will have to compete in qualifiers for the Super 12s round, along with Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, and surprise packages Oman and Papua New Guinea.
For the first time in their history, Oman and Papua New Guinea will compete in round one of the T20 World Cup, with a chance to advance to the main stage of the mega event.
To qualify for the Super 12s, they must finish in the top two spots of their group. The Super 12s feature two-time champions West Indies, former champions Pakistan, India, and England, as well as four other teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Afghanistan.
The West Indies will enter the tournament as the defending champions and one of the tournament favorites. They have an exciting T20 squad that includes stars like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, and captain Kieron Pollard.
Former champions Pakistan are also considered one of the favourites to win the World Cup; they are currently ranked third in the ICC T20 team rankings and will be looking to add another World Cup title to their collection. The Men in Green are led by Captain Babar Azam and include Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, and Hasan Ali.
England, the world’s top T20 team, will be without their star all-rounder Ben Stokes for the tournament. Even without Stokes, England appears to be strong favourites to reach the tournament’s final.
Captain Eoin Morgan has already led them to an ODI World Cup victory, and they will be hoping for a repeat performance in the T20 World Cup in 2021. A strong batting unit is led by Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Johnny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone.
India is currently ranked second in the world in T20 cricket. Due to the number of options available, Indian captain Virat Kohli and the selection committee will be unable to select the strongest squad for the T20 World Cup. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja will be hoping to add to their side’s 2007 T20 World Cup victory.
Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand all have strong T20 squads but are not considered tournament favourites. This could work in their favour given that they have some of the best players in the world, including Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch, Quinton De Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill, and Kyle Jamieson, among others. The three teams have the potential to be a surprise in the tournament.
Finally, Afghanistan has the offensive firepower to pull off a major upset in the tournament. Despite the country’s tumultuous political situation, Afghanistan’s T20 players are among the best in the world.
They will be led by superstar Rashid Khan and will include players such as Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, and Mujeeb-ur-Rehman.
The sixteen 2021 T20 World Cup teams will compete for one month to be crowned the new World Champions.
Leave a Reply