T20 World Cup: How do India's rivals stack up?

Jofra Archer's return has boosted England's chances. (AFP)
Jofra Archer's return has boosted England's chances. (AFP)

Summary

Australia is aiming to win a hattrick of world titles, while England are the T20 defending champions. Lounge analyses how strong India's rivals are

When it comes to cricket’s world order, India are perched at the very top. The country has got the big bucks, the prima donnas, passionate fans and the glitziest league. But for a nation that so easily lords over the sport’s financial and administrative matters, it hasn’t quite been able to extend the domination on the cricket field. India last won a World Championship, in any format, in 2011 at home. The last time they won a T20 World Cup was in 2007, the inaugural edition. They will be hoping to end the title drought as they travel to the US and West Indies for the T20 World Cup, which begins on 2 June.

While India undoubtedly start as one of the favourites at the world event, the shortest format of the game is also the trickiest. T20 cricket is a far more level playing field than the One Day Internationals (ODIs) or the Tests where common cricketing sense and quality usually emerges supreme. By its very nature, T20 is mercurial. A game of chance and chancers. There may be plenty of upsets in store as a cricket World Cup travels to North America for the very first time, to uncharted territory and unknown conditions. The tournament has also expanded to 20 countries, from 16 in the 2022 edition in Australia. Even though there are far too many variables, on paper, India’s biggest threat may still come from traditional powerhouses like Australia, England and South Africa.

Also Read T20 World Cup: Welcome to the US, cricket's final frontier

Australia last won the T20 World Cup in 2021.
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Australia last won the T20 World Cup in 2021. (AP)

A hat-trick of titles for Australia?

Having won the World Test Championships (WTC) and the ODI World Cup in 2023, Australia are aiming for a hat-trick of world titles at the T20 World Cup. They defeated India in the WTC finals in June and handed them heartbreak at the home World Cup. Despite their troubles earlier in the tournament, Australia tamed an Indian team that had been unbeaten in 10 matches at the World Cup before the final. As that match proved yet again, Australia rose to the occasion like no other team in world cricket.

Ironically, it is in India where many of the Australian players got their best preparation for the forthcoming T20 world event.

Ironically, it is in India where many of the Australian players got their best preparation for the forthcoming T20 world event. WTC and World Cup winning skipper Pat Cummins and his fast-bowling partner Mitchell Starc became the most expensive signings in the Indian Premier League mini-auction for the 2024 season. While Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) shelled out 20.50 crore for Cummins, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) signed Starc for a staggering 24.74 crore. And for good measure. Canny Cummins yet again led his team to final while Starc was the player of the match as KKR won the title on Sunday.

Though Starc wasn’t quite at the top of his game during the league stage, he burst to life in the play-offs. The left-armer’s menacing pace and swing stopped SRH, the best batting unit during the league phase, in their tracks. He followed up a match-winning 3/34 in Qualifier 1 against the Hyderabad franchise with 2/14 in the final against the same opponents as his team cruised to victory.

Travis Head, whose century extinguished India’s World Cup challenge in November, also made a successful comeback to IPL. Playing in the League for the first time since 2017, the left-handed batter scored 567 runs in 15 matches for SRH at an incredible strike-rate of 191.55. He powered SRH to two of the highest scores in the League—277/3 against Mumbai Indians and 287/3 against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru a few days later.

The IPL also helped Australia unearth another gem, Jake Fraser-McGurk. So ferocious was the 22-year-old that the Australian selectors were forced to take him as a reserve. Though he played only nine matches for the Delhi Capitals, he scored 330 runs at the top of the order at a strike rate of 234.04.

For the T20 World Cup, Australia decided to hand over captaincy to all-rounder Mitchell Marsh. Australia, whose only T20 World Cup triumph came in 2021, look primed for another strong performance. But could a change in captain lead to change in fortunes?

Also Read 5 things India needs to do to win the T20 World Cup

England are defending champions after winning the T20 World Cup in 2022.
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England are defending champions after winning the T20 World Cup in 2022. (AP)

Defending the crown

At last year’s ODI World Cup, England started as the defending champions and one of the teams to watch out for. They ended the competition seventh in the 10-team table, and their seven losses in the first eight matches was the worst-ever start to a title defence at the World Cup.

England will be hoping for a much-improved show as they defend their T20 World Cup crown. They will be without their talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes, who opted out of the tournament to focus on his bowling and the longer formats of the game.

England will be hoping for a much-improved show as they defend their T20 World Cup crown. They will be without their talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes

But the team has been bolstered by the return of pacer Jofra Archer. After a 14-month injury layoff, Archer announced his comeback to international cricket with 2/28 against Pakistan in the second match of their T20I series. England bowler Chris Jordan said Archer’s return had brought a “different-level mood," to the camp.

The English players missed the IPL playoffs since they were recalled by their cricket board for the T20I series against Pakistan. But some of them had played themselves into form during the League. While Sam Curran showcased his all-round skills for Punjab Kings, Phil Salt’s explosive batting at the top of the order gave KKR the edge. But the most noteworthy contribution came from Jos Buttler, who scored two match-winning hundreds for Rajasthan Royals.

If they can come to terms with the pressure of being the defending champions, England have the ingredients to make another deep run into the tournament.

Also Read 5 openers who are redefining T20 cricket

Kagiso Rabada leads a formidable South African pace attack.
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Kagiso Rabada leads a formidable South African pace attack. (PTI)

Perennial nearly-men

Despite the quality in their ranks, South Africa and New Zealand have never got their hands on a limited over world championship. The Kiwis won their first world title in 2021, when they defeated India in the World Test Championship finals.

At the T20 World Cup 2024, the two teams will once again be strong contenders. The South African team boasts of big-hitters like Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Aiden Markram. Playing for SRH, Klaasen and Markram lit up the IPL stage with their bold shot-making this season.

If the pitches in the West Indies offer pace and bounce, as they traditionally do, South Africa’s pace attack may come to the fore. In Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee, who was discovered at the 2023 ODI World Cup, they have one of the best fast-bowling batteries in the world. Whether they can overcome the mental demons of being cricket’s perennial nearly-men remains to be seen.

Over the years, New Zealand haven’t quite done as well in a T20 World Cup as they have in the longer formats. Their best finish was in 2021, when they made the finals. For the 2024 edition, a fully-fit Kane Williamson is back at the helm but the squad is depleted due to injuries. Youngster Rachin Ravindra, who burst into the limelight in India last year, is the one spark of hope for the Kiwis.

Also Read Does India have the squad to win the T20 World Cup?

Babar Azam in action for Pakistan.
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Babar Azam in action for Pakistan. (Reuters)

The mavericks

No World Cup is complete without drama in the Pakistan camp. And from last year’s ODI World Cup to this year’s T20 World Cup, there has been plenty. Babar Azam stepped down as captain after the team’s underwhelming performance at the 2023 World Cup only to be reinstated in a few months.

Pacer Shaheen Afridi’s reign in T20Is lasted only for five matches, of which the team lost four. Apart from Azam, Pakistan does not have a single proven quality batter who can consistently withstand the rigours of international cricket. And even his strike rate in the shortest format is not up to the mark.

Their preparation for the T20 world event also hit turbulence as they scraped a 2-2 draw against a second-string New Zealand side in a five-match T20I series. The unpredictability in the team was highlighted by the return of Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim. The two players came out of retirement and walked straight into the World Cup side. On paper, Pakistan lack depth in batting and sting in bowling.

But they can never be counted out. Much like co-hosts West Indies, who are looking for redemption after failing to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Despite their steady decline in cricket, since the golden age of the 1960s and 1970s, the T20 format gives West Indies the best chance to still compete with the sport’s biggies on equal terms. They have a wealth of explosive and multi-dimensional cricketers that they have exported to various leagues in the world. Captain Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran all had a decent outing at the 2024 IPL. Meanwhile, all-rounder Andre Russell played a key role in KKR’s title win. Even though their best player in the format, Sunil Narine, is not part of the set-up, West Indies have enough firepower in batting, as well as bowling, to take on the world.

Apart from the traditional forces, teams like Ireland, the Netherlands and Afghanistan have just enough experience at the big stage and the talent to cause an upset or two.

Of the four debutants at the World Cup (Canada, Uganda, Namibia, and the US), co-hosts US will be hoping to make a splash at their home World Cup. The stakes are high for US cricket as the world event will also serve as a precursor to the 2028 Los Angeles Games, where cricket will make its Olympic debut.

Not surprisingly, the team is mainly made up of players who have emigrated to the US. Former New Zealand cricketer Corey Anderson, who was part of the team that made the 2015 ODI World Cup final, is the most high-profile of the lot. They also have Indian players like Harmeet Singh, Milind Kumar and former India U-19 player Saurabh Netravalkar in the squad. The team started their World Cup preparations with a series win over Bangladesh, their first over a Test-playing nation.

With 20 teams, from five continents, competing, this is the most inclusive cricket World Cup. Will it also be the most disruptive?

Deepti Patwardhan is a Mumbai-based sportswriter.

Read the rest of our ICC T20 World Cup stories here and here.

Also Read IPL 2024: 5 key decisions that defined the season

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