5 months and what feels like 1000s of T20 games later, international cricket is finally back. I am a traditionalist when it comes to franchise vs international cricket so yes I am biased. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of value of franchise cricket, from commercial viability, entertainment, exposure for talent etc. But (controversial opinion coming up) do results really matter? I don’t think cricket has quite reached that inflection point with fans or even players where they would choose franchise results over world cups. So really looking forward to the upcoming festival of cricket in the US and West indies, and read on for a one stop preview of the tournament

Location and Grounds

This world cup is an attempt by the sport and its administrators to charter un tested waters and see how much further they can spread their wings. Hosting an ICC event in the US and expanding the tournament to 20 teams is a shift from the last few tournaments. The purpose is to generate interest in the largest sports market in the world and hopefully have a larger consumer base by the time the 2028 LA Olympics arrive where cricket will be making its debut. The US sports market is approximately valued at $100 Billion dollars out of about 25% would come from media rights. The world of cricket knows there is a market to be cracked and perhaps T20 is the foot in the door. The US will be hosting 16 matches across Dallas, Florida and New York. At this stage most of the interest will be from the 5-6 million strong south asian community in the USA. I feel interest could be sparked if the USA can cause an upset or two and gain some coverage across the country, and cricket might be able to mirror the success of the 1994 Football world cup.

In terms of grounds, across both the West Indies and the USA, i suspect the conditions will be quite different. Most of the wickets in the US are drop in pitches, but how they will behave is anyone’s guess. Wickets in the west indies I feel will get slower and lower as the tournament progresses as most of the grounds have small playing squares with not more than 4-5 wickets to be used across the tournament. T20 has always been about the batsman but I feel spinners and variations from the quicks will be critical in this tournament.

Group A – USA, Canada, Ireland, India and Pakistan

USA

The hosts and an improving cricket team. With their players now experiencing franchise cricket through MLC and the Canada G20 and rubbing shoulders with established stars they could cause an upset. The don’t need to look too far for inspiration with a great warm up in the last couple of weeks. It will be tricky for them to get out of the group but I think they will beat Canada, are capable of beating Ireland and I think can give Pakistan a good game too.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for – Steven Taylor at the top of the order and Ali Khan with the ball

Canada

Canada have featured at a few ICC tournaments in the past, all fans will remember the great John Davidson from 2003. All their players have also had great exposure through the GT20 in the last few years, but the key question is can they come to the party on the big stage?

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for – Big hitting Aaron Johnson with a strike rate of more than 165 and left armer Kaleem Sana who’s had some great success in GT20 Canada

Ireland

A team in transition and have had inconsistent results in the last few years. They have had some great results in the past at ICC tournaments (2007 – Pakistan, 2009 – Bangladesh, 2011 – England, 2015 – West Indies) but have struggled in recent years. They lost a few games against Afghanistan recently but did get a good win against Pakistan at home. They would expect themselves to beat USA and Canada, and try to push Pakistan and India all the way.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for – It seems like Paul Stirling has been around forever and he will still be their talisman, with good support from the likes of Tector and Balbirnie. Josh Little is another one to watch whos has some great IPL experience in the last few years.

Pakistan

This team needs no introduction and their match with India is as usual the match the whole world is waiting to see. Its very difficult to ever predict a Pakistani team as they never really ever follow logic. On paper they look like a strong outfit, especially their pace attack. However I feel they haven’t really recovered as a team since last year’s Asia Cup. Their vaunted pace attack hasn’t looked any where near as threatening and they have all leaked runs in their latest outings against England and Ireland. I also feel like their haven’t cracked their batting order or overall approach. They will need to improve considerably to challenge the likes of Australia, England and India. Having said that, I feel if they are able to flick a switch they can beat any team on their day.

Expected Finish – Super Eights

Players to watch out for – Mohammed Rizwan has been one of the most consistent batters in world cricket and he’s sometimes not given the spotlight as much as he deserves. I also feel this is a big tournament for Shaheen Shah Afridi, and you feel if he can lead the pace attack, Pakistan will be a force to reckon with.

India

Leaders of the world game, have the most talented pool of cricketers, consistently go deep into ICC tournaments. The biggest hurdle for the team has been knockout cricket and securing an ICC trophy. A near perfect world cup last year and they were swept aside by Australia in the final. They have all played a lot of cricket in the last 5 months with the test series against England and the IPL, and im sure some of the players will be very jaded. The IPL is a success in many ways for Indian cricket, but its ironic India have never won a T20 World cup since its inception. They will still be one of the top 2-3 teams, and their progress will be driven by how quickly they can form that strong camaraderie of the 2023 World Cup and go one better.

Expected Finish – Semi Final/Final

Players to watch out for – Jaiswal, SKY and Dube for me hold the X-factor for India. I feel if these three have a consistent tournament India can cause havoc. From a bowling perspective Bumrah and Yadav hold the key to both economy and wickets

Group B – Australia, England, Namibia, Oman and Scotland

Namibia

This will be their third world cup appearance at the T20 world cup, and would hope their use their experience from the last two tournaments here. They started off like a train in Australia in 2022, by beating Sri Lanka and had a very disappointing finish by not making it to the Super 12. They get 4 games this time on the big stage and would be looking to get at least one victory under their belt.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: JJ Smit and skipper Erasmus are the ones to watch. This is also the last hurrah for the wily old fox David Wiese, so look forward to seeing him carry out the all rounder role for the squad.

Oman

The standout team in the asia qualifiers, having won all their games and qualified unbeaten. They are an improved side and narrowly missed out for the super 12 stage when the tournament was held in the Middle East. They are probably one of the most experienced sides in terms of age at this world cup. Its going to be very difficult to get out of the group but they would back themselves to get a few wins and push England and Australia as hard as possible.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: Captain Aaqib Ilyas has a strike rate of greater than 160 and will be the one to watch. Bilal Khan and his yorkers will be needed to restrict the oppositions, and i think he might enjoy the conditions in the Caribbean.

Scotland

The scots had some great results last year in the 50 over qualifiers including defeating the West Indies. They gave a good account of themselves in Australia in the last edition by beating the West Indies but then losing the rest of the qualifiers and couldn’t make it to the super 12s. This year in the format they haven’t shown much promise against the stronger teams, and i don’t see them challenging to get out of the group.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: George Munsey will hold the key once again with the bat and Mark Watt will look to continue his great form with the ball in the ICC T20 world Cups.

England

The current World T20 champions but they will have their work cut out to defend their crown. The way they crumbled in the ODI world cup last year was way more spectacular than anyone could have imagined. There is no debate in the talented group of players in this team, but can they get past the mental side of pressure and deliver the goods this time around? On paper and if fit this team should go deep into the tournament, the biggest concern for me would be the fitness of the fast bowlers. Archer, Topley and Wood are all injury prone and will need to be managed, and Adil Rashid holds the key to the spin department.

Expected Finish: Semi Finals

Players to watch out for: Phil Salt has been in a rich vein of form since the West Indies series last year and will therefore have very fond memories. I am also looking forward to seeing Archer and Wood charging in and causing havoc.

Australia

World Champions in Test cricket and ODI cricket and have the most well drilled unit full of winners. This Australian team is dominating world cricket but they aren’t so in your face as other teams from the past. The balance across the squad and experience is almost fault less. If I’m being ultra critical, their spin options are heavily dependant on Zampa, and depending on how the wickets play in the business end of the tournament, but definitely the team to beat.

Expected Finish: Winners

Players to watch out for: Its the last international assignment for David Warner and im sure he will want to go out with a bang. Mitch Starc has a great finish in the business end of the IPL and I think he will be the leader of the attack and be at the top end of the wickets column

Group C – Afghanistan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and West Indies

Papua New Guinea

This is actually their 2nd appearance of the T20 World Cup after their appearance in the Middle East. They should also embrace this opportunity to challenge themselves against the big boys and hey maybe even get some lucrative franchise contracts to give their players some experience. They have been able to compete with the likes or Oman and Nepal but are not quite at that level.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: Big hitting and experienced batter Toni Ura will hold the innings’ together and has had a few 50s against Nepal and Hong Kong in the last few fixtures. Allrounder Charles Amini will also have lots of work ahead of him with his leg spin and will look to utilise conditions

Uganda

The debutants of the tournament and what an experience they have ahead of them. They got through the African qualifiers and have beaten teams such as Kenya on the way. This tournament will be a big step up in quality and they should use this as an opportunity to show case their skills on the biggest stage.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: Left Hander Simon Ssesaszi and slow left armer Alpesh Ramjani have impressed in the recent times and will be good to see how they get on

Afghanistan

The not so new comers anymore and now an established white ball side of the international circuit. No one takes them for granted and rightly so. They had an amazing tournament last year but have a very tough task to get out of the group. Pitches in the West Indies will help them and their bowling attack, but might lack the fire power in the batting to challenge teams such as the West Indies.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: Top order batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been plying his trade in franchise cricket and has shown his talent on the big stage and will be the start batter for them. Bowling will be led by who else by Rashid Khan, he’s not at his best but will hope to regain his rhythm.

New Zealand

Always the team that goes under the radar and performs out of their skins. Their squad has all the usual suspects, and beating them wont be easy for any team. They reached the last 4 in Australia in the last tournament and will fancy themselves to go deep again. Question mark is on their batting and big hitting power in the middle, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell who are exception batters but not huge hitters don’t both fit into the first choice XI in my view. Very strong bowling line up and will be tough to get away.

Expected Finish: Super Eights – wont be surprised if they make it to semi finals

Players to watch out for: I had predicted Rachin Ravindra would set the world cup last year alight and he did, im going to back him again to go big at the top of the order. On the bowling front Trent Boult and Santner will be marshalling the troops in the field and will get plenty of help with the conditions.

West Indies

Calypso cricket is what the West Indies have been known for long before T20 cricket even existed. They are a team who have taken to this format like fish to water and arguably dominated for a few of the tournaments between 2012-2016. Since the retirement of that group they have struggled across the board, and hit an all time low last year when they didn’t make it to the World Cup at all. However there is quiet optimism about this group and the romantic in me also thinks its their time for redemption at home. Their batting and all rounders are power packed, bowling is inexperienced especially the fast bowlers, but they are playing at home and will have a partisan crowd behind them.

Expected Finish: Semi-Final

Players to watch out for: Nicolas Pooran, he’s found a new lease of life since giving up the captaincy and will have a great tournament shepherding the middle order. I am also interested to see both the Josephs charging in, their economies arent great but a few bouncy wickets and the opposition are in trouble. Akeal Hossain and his experience from CPL will also come in handy.

Group D – Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, South Africa and Srilanka

Nepal

A talented side who have been successful in Asia, but I think this world cup will be about getting experience in the big time. They gave a good account of themselves in the asian games last year narrowly losing to India in the quarter finals. They have some talented cricketers in the squad who will have moments during their campaign.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: Big hitting Dipendra Airee will be the one to watch with the bat and Abinash Bohara will be key for the bowling unit.

Netherlands

The Dutch, the team which provides the most colour in every world event. The orange army I’m sure will be out in the US and the West Indies in full flow. They gave a very good showing in the World Cup last year and Bangladesh and Srilanka will be wary of them for sure. I wont be surprised if they beat one of them again this tournament.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit with one upset

Players to watch out for: Logan Van Beek , Scott Edwards and Bas De Leede are the core of the team and i predict strong tournaments for all three of them

Bangladesh

I think my opinion of Bangladesh remains unchanged from my prediction last year for the ODI world cup. Their golden generation has entered its last phase without much to show for it. This is the last chance saloon for the likes of Shakib and Mahmudullah. Their embarrassing losses to the US in the last couple of weeks couldn’t have been helpful. The format of the tournament is such that their first match is their most important against Srilanka. If they lose that it will be very difficult to see them progress.

Expected Finish: First Round Exit

Players to watch out for: Litton Das at the top of the order is key to get them the solid starts. All Bangladesh fans will hope for one more hurray from Shakib and i think he will be a very useful in the conditions. The Fizz had a great start to the IPL and his bowling at the death will be fun to watch.

Sri Lanka

Another team still trying to find its footing in international cricket in the last few years. They have struggled to gain the critical mass and capability in their team since the big retirements after the 2014 T20 world cup. I think they lack big hitters in their batting, but if the wickets are more subcontinental assisting spin, it might work in their favour. Their bowling is definitely stronger than the batting with some “slingers” in their line up.

Expected Finish: Super Eights – I think they will beat Bangladesh to get out of the group

Players to watch out for: Kusal Mendis is steady and i expect him to score runs, ex captain Dasun Shanaka is someone who can be the finisher and big hitter in the middle order. On the bowling front im looking forward to seeing Hasaranga come back and also Pathirana and Thushara operating in tandem at the death

South Africa

The proteas, I always feel along with the kiwis, they are the neutrals favourite team. They were looking like the team to beat in the 2023 world cup until getting unstuck against India and didn’t quite recover from that. They have a very strong batting unit with huge hitters, but i think their pace attack lacks control and can go for runs.

Expected Finish: Super Eights

Players to watch out for: Tristan Stubbs and Henrich Klassen in the middle order could be a treat to watch, especially their hitting against spin bowling. Also I feel Shamsi needs to have a great tournament if South Africa want to go deep.

5 years ago I don’t think I could have ever imagined USA vs Canada kicking things off in a cricket world cup in Texas, but it also demonstrates how far the game of cricket has come in the 21st century. Having said that it is the oldest rivalry in world cricket. Let the games begin!